Trip highlights

Otters are just one of the amazing wildlife creatures we had the pleasure of seeing on today’s voyage to Columbia Glacier, but they are one of the cutest animals for sure. And some of the most interesting animals to watch. Here’s some interesting facts about otters.

Ninety percent of the worlds sea otters reside in Alaska, and the Prince William Sound is a breading ground for these furry friends, with lots of food and habitat to support their population. Sea otters live to be about 10 to 15 years old on average.

Did you know that the latin name for otters is Enhydra lutris. Enhydra means living in water, and lutris means otter. A group of otters is called a raft. Otters fur contains between 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Unlike most other marine mammals, otters lack a blubber layer. Instead, they depend on their dense, water-resistant fur to provide insulation.

According to an article by Cristina Reo of the Prince William Sound Science Center, “Otters are carnivorous mammals that can be found in oceans, rivers, lakes, and swamps. They are semi-aquatic, meaning they spend some of their lives in water and some on land. Otters have webbed feet for swimming and dense fur to keep them warm. They have a special adaptation that allows them to close their ears and nose while swimming.”

Otters are very important to the eco system in the ocean, controlling the sea urchin population of along the pacific coast, which in return keeps the sea kelp forests from being depleted. Speaking of food, sea otters need to eat 25% of their body weight in food everyday to sustain themselves. That’s a lot of chow! Sea otters’ diets include sea urchins, crabs, mussels, and clams, which they’re known to crack open with a rock and eat while floating in the water. To find food, sea otters may occasionally dive as deep as 250 feet and will use their sensitive whiskers to locate small prey inside crevices or their strong forepaws to dig for clams, according to an article by the US Department of Interior. 

An otter’s lung capacity is 2.5 times greater than that of similar-sized land mammals. Sea otters have been known to stay submerged for more than 5 minutes at a time, and they are one of the only mammals that use tools. 

If you’d like to see these adorable, fuzzy creatures in person, join us for one of our Glacier or Wildlife Cruise to the Columbia or Meares Glacier.