Welcome to You Ask Andy

Jerry Swanson. age 11. of Falmouth Foresidet Me.. for his question:

What are sea otters?

The sea otter enjoys life in the North Pacific Ocean. He hangs around the beds of seaweed off the bleak islands. But he rarely if ever..‑sets foot on land. He is the ocean‑dwelling member of the otter family. He wears one of the softest and thickest fur coats in the world. It is blackish‑brown.. sprinkled with longer.. white hairs.

The ancestors of the sea otters were there to greet the first trappers and traders from the New World. The handsome creatures were full of charm and friendliness. They welcomed and entertained the new Visitors4 The frisked and played in the water. They showed how they could float on

Their backs and dive for clams paddle with. them webbed back‑feet and move in ten‑mile‑an‑hour spurts.

A favorite trick was to show how a proper sea otter eats his lunch. He eats some fishy but he prefers to dive for the clams. mussels and other shell. fish on the ocean floor. The shell fish is brought to the surface and the otter floats flat on his back. He places the food on his chest. which he uses as a table. Then he uses his front paws to stuff the food daintily into his mouth.

When the first trappers got here the waters teemed with sea otters. Sad to say. their friendliness led them into serious trouble. It was far too easy to catch the friendly fellows and steal their valuable fur coats. Before then the Eskimoes had taken a pelt now and then to make a warm jackets but the skillful trappers took thousands of them.

Soon there were hardly any sea otters left. Then very strict laws were passed to save those that remained. Nowadays: no one may kill a sea otter. Anyone trying to market a sea otter pelt is in for serious trouble. The charming little fellows are protected by law.

Their numbers are now growing  but very slowly. This is because Mama Sea Otter has only one babe at a time. You would think such a friendly creature to make a wonderful mother. and so she does.  She is one of the  most careful and affectionate mothers in the animal kingdom.

Junior is born on a bed of floating seaweed. He is a soft. cuddly fellow. born with his bright eyes open and alert. Mama floats on her back nestling him close to her chest in her arms and feeds him. When she dives for food she places him safe in his cradle of floating seaweed.

Like all good mothers. she is also strict. She cuffs Junior when he does not do his best in his swimming lessons. She cuddles him when he tries hard to do a good job. She stands for no nonsense about learning. Each day she washes him all over and combs his beautiful coat with her teeth.

Year by year.. these wonderful mamas are adding to the number of sea otters. Let's wish them good luck. Outside of too greedy trappers. their only serious enemy is the killer whale.

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