Physical Description

• Color: Dark brown or black
• Size: Up to 55 inches with a 14 inch tail
• Weight: 10 to 30 pounds
• Head: Heavy and bullet shaped
• Ears and Snout: Small
• Eyes: Small and amber colored
• Neck: Thick
• Legs: Short and stubby
• Tail: Long and flat

The Life of an Otter

Otters live in water, in dens or nests. In winter, when an otter’s den or nest freezes over, the otter will look for a new river to live in. Otters like to splash, wrestle, and play in the shallow parts of the river. Otters hunt in water and on land, but they spend most of the rest of their time in the water. Otters are fierce hunters. Otters are nocturnal animals, so they always hunt at night. Females and males mate in the summer and work hard to teach their babies. Otters can stay under water for up to six minutes by closing their nostrils.

Eating Habits

From the water, otters eat squid, mussels, sea worms, octopi, shellfish, frogs, turtles, and small fish. From land, they eat small birds, insects, eggs, snails, snakes, rabbits, muskrats, and other small mammals.