While there are many animals and indeed mammals that one W knows quite a bit about there are certain others one is not acquainted with sufficiently, for whatever reason. The sea otter is one such. Surprising facets about this mammal makes it compelling enough to learn more.
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the family Mustelidae, a diverse group that includes other terrestrial animals such as weasels, badgers and minks.
Sea otters belong to the weasel family and an adult sea otter roughly weighs between 15 and 45 kgs. This makes them the heaviest among the weasel clan, yet they are among the smallest marine mammals. Three subspecies of the sea otter are recognised with distinct geographical distributions. Asian sea otter ranges from the Kuril Islands north of Japan to Russia's Commander Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, the northern sea otter is found from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Oregon and the southern sea otter is native to central and southern California.
Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. The sea otter has no blubber and therefore relies on its thick fur to keep warm. With up to 150,000 strands of hair per sq. cm, its fur is truly dense. The fur consists of long, waterproof guard hairs and short underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry. There is an air compartment between the thick fur and the skin where air is trapped and heated by the body. Miraculously, cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited.
Although the sea otter can walk on land, it is capable of living exclusively in the ocean.
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