10 Fun Facts About Otter

Otters belong to which animal family, also known for weasels and badgers?

Otters are carnivorous mammals classified under the subfamily Lutrinae, which is part of the Mustelidae family, a group that also includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines.

Approximately how many extant species of otter are recognized worldwide?

There are 14 known extant species of otters, all of which are semiaquatic or marine, inhabiting diverse environments globally.

On which two continents are otters NOT naturally found?

Otters are highly adaptable mammals found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

What is the primary component of most otter species' diets?

While otters are opportunistic carnivores and eat a variety of prey, fish is the staple of their diet for most species.

What is a common term for an otter's den or burrow?

Otters are known to live in dens called 'holts,' which are typically found near water sources and can be natural burrows or dug into riverbanks.

Which animal has the thickest fur of any, around 160,000 hairs per square centimetre, making up for the fact that it has no blubber layer?

Oil glands help mat the fur down and stop it from trapping air.

Sea otters are one of the few mammal species known to use tools. What do they use to dislodge prey and crack shells open?

The behaviour puts them in a very small club of tool-using mammals.

Sea otters forage alone but rest together at the surface in single-sex groups of ten to a hundred animals. What are those groups called?

The male groups are typically larger than the female ones.

Which species is the longest member of the weasel family, reaching 1.8 metres and living mostly along the Amazon and in the Pantanal?

The Guianas remain one of its last strongholds, with further protected populations in the Peruvian Amazon basin.

Weighing at most 3.5 kg and measuring under a metre nose to tail, which is the smallest of these species?

It is the smallest otter found anywhere in Asia, and the smallest in the world.