Marylee Madison, age 8, of Marquette, Mich., for her question:
WHERE DO OTTERS LIVE?
Otters are members of the weasel family. They live close to the water and can be found on every continent except Australia. Otters are expert swimmers and they spend much of their lives in water. When they are on land, otters move very awkwardly.
Most otters weigh from 10 to 30 pounds and grow from three to four and a half feet long, including the tail. The giant otter of South America may measure up to seven feet long.
You'll find otters living along rivers, streams, lakes and coastal waters, or in marshes. One branch of the family is the sea otter. This furry animal lives in the North Pacific Ocean along the rocky shores of western North America and Siberia.
The fresh water otter has a small flattened head, a long, thick neck and a thick tail that narrows to a point. Special muscles allow the animal to close its ears and nostrils tightly to keep water out when it is swimming.
Elastic webbing grows between the toes of all species of otters. In most species, the webbing is extensive enough to help the animal swim swiftly.
Like beavers and muskrats, otters have long, coarse guard hairs that cover and protect the short, thick underfur. This underfur traps air and keeps the otter's skin dry. An otter's fur varies in color from brownish gray to dark brown when dry, and appears darker when wet.
In some species, a layer of fat under the skin insulates the otter from the cold.
Otters eat crayfish, crabs and fish. They also eat clams, frogs, insects, snails, snakes and, occasionally, waterfowl.
A sea otter may eat as much as a fifth of its body weight every day. It will feed on abalones, clams, crabs, fish, muscles, octopuses, sea urchins and squid.
In eating, the sea otter uses its teeth or paws, and may pound one clam or mussel against another. It is also able to balance a rock on its belly and hammer the shellfish against it.
For centuries, sea otters have been hunted for their valuable fur. From the mid 1700s through the 1800s, fur traders killed so many sea otters that the animal almost disappeared. In 1911, Canada, the United States, Japan and Russia signed a treaty that prohibited the hunting of sea otters. As a result, the world's sea otter population is going up steadily now.
However, fresh water otters are still hunted for their valuable and beautiful fur.
Fresh water otters make their homes in burrows in riverbanks or under rocky ledges or in abandoned dens of other animals. Most female otters give birth to two or three young at a time. The babies are called cubs or pups.
Otters spend much time playing. They wrestle and romp and slide down steep muddy slopes in summer and down icy riverbanks in winter. They use a variety of sounds to communicate among themselves.
All species have a warning growl. In addition, they use many sounds including chirps, chuckles, screams and squeals to express their feeings to other otters.