OTTERS
Mammal        -       Vertebrate        -       Omnivore

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Otters ...

• Are a member of the Weasel family
  
• There are sea otters and land otters
  
• Eats fish, amphibians, birds, shellfish, crayfish, salamanders, frogs, clams and small mammals
  
• Are playful, intelligent and inquisitive - enjoying sliding down the riverbanks, wrestling with each other and somersaulting
  
• Are excellent swimmers
  
• Are very social animals
  
• Live in burrows along riverbank
  
• They eat, sleep and give birth in the water
  
• They use rocks to crack open mussels
  
• Like to float on their backs on the surface of the water 
  
• Can stay underwater for up to 4 minutes
  
• As they dive, they close their ears and nostrils to keep the water out
  
• Main threat is water pollution and habitat destruction
• Sea otters hold each other's paws when they sleep so that they won't drift apart
• The body of sea otters has a pouch across the front in which it stores pebbles to break open shellfish

There are about 13 species of Otter

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

1. A bevy of otters
   
2. A family of otters
   
3. A kennel of otters
4. A lodge of otters
5. A raft of otters
   
6. A raft of sea otters
7. A ramp of otters
8. A romp of otters
   

SEA OTTER

THREE MONTH OLD OTTER CUBS

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