Q 01/05

Otters are carnivorous mammals belonging to which family, which also includes weasels, badgers, and mink?

A) Mustelidae

B) Canidae

C) Procyonidae

D) Viverridae

Answer · why

A) Mustelidae

Mustelidae mostly share a long body and short legs: the build that lets a weasel hunt in burrows and crevices makes an otter a streamlined swimmer.

Q 02/05

Why does a sea otter keep rolling over in the water while it eats?

A) To rinse off scraps

B) To cool down

C) To hide its meal

D) To swallow food

Answer · why

A) To rinse off scraps

To rinse off scraps: dirty fur loses its insulation and lets cold water through to the skin, a real danger for an animal with no blubber to keep it wa...

Q 03/05

How do sea otters crack open clams and other hard-shelled prey?

A) Dropping them from a height

B) Pounding them on a rock

C) Prying them apart with driftwood

D) Burying them in sand to soften

Answer · why

B) Pounding them on a rock

Pounding them on a rock: some sea otters use the stone as an anvil and smash the shell down onto it, while others swing it like a hammer, which makes ...

Q 04/05

What is a floating group of resting sea otters called?

A) A raft

B) A school

C) A herd

D) A colony

Answer · why

A) A raft

A raft keeps resting sea otters together: sleepers sometimes hold paws, or simply stay within sight and sound of each other, so that nobody drifts awa...

Q 05/05

What is the traditional British name for an otter's den?

A) A warren

B) A sett

C) A drey

D) A holt

Answer · why

D) A holt

A holt is usually a ready-made hollow rather than a freshly dug burrow: otters move in among riverbank tree roots or rocks and line the chamber with g...