BC Species - Order At Risk Sea Otter

1. By: Mikaela Kos

2. KINGDOM – Animalia
PHYLUM – Chordata
Subphylum - Vertebrata
CLASS – Mammalia
ORDER – Carnivora
FAMILY – Mustelidae
Subfamily - Lutrinae
GENUS - Enhydra
SPECIES – E.lutris
(SCIENTIFIC NAME)

3. Image
of Sea
Otter
(Enhydr
a lutris)

4. - multi-cellular organism, eukaryotic
- considered omnivores but consume a mostly carnivorous diet
- reproduce through internal fertilization during sexual reproduction, no asexual reproduction
- have ‘cubs’ 6 to 8 months after fertilization
- have a higher metabolic rates than land mammals of similar size keeps them warm
- generate more body heat by consuming more calories than others
- have dense, thick fur which keeps them warm in cold waters
- when threatened they bite with their teeth and attack with their tails
- When threatened by larger predators they flee, take refuge in the kelp where
they live, and come up on land
- hunt by using their vibrissae to detect movements of prey in the water
- catch prey with teeth and larger species hold onto prey while consuming
- may remove an abalone by repeatedly hitting it with a rock
- live on average 10 to 20 years (both male and female)
- become sexually mature at 4-6 years of age
- most don’t successfully reproduce until 5-7 years of age
- tails are smaller than other otters to reduce surface area and at the base their tail is very plump
and as it reaches the tip flattens helps the sea otter swim at a quick pace under water
- webbed feet allow them to swim quickly
(vibrissae or whiskers on a sea otter)

5. Sea otter pup
is born
Sea otter pup is
fully grown at
about 3 years of
age (males 1.5m +
up to 45kg and
females 1.4m +
up to 32.6kg
Females reach sexual
maturity at age 4 and
males at age 6
A male and
female sea otter
participate in
sexual
reproduction
Female sea
otter is
pregnant with
soon to be
cub for 6-9
months

6. Sea otters live in oceans and on land
and are secondary consumers. These
organisms are predators who play a
very important role in their community
or ecosystem. They consume about 25
percent of their weight per day, mainly
in clams, mussels, sea urchins, crabs,
octopus, squid and fish. If sea otters
disappeared, eagles might begin to
feed on more birds because sea urchin
populations are controlled by sea
otters. With sea otter populations
growing and feeding on kelp beds,
fish would begin to die and there
would be less food for fish and then
there would be no food for eagles.
This would cause a large change in the
ecosystem and food webs for multiple
species.
http://carnivoraforum.com/topic/9331655/1/

7.  Dogs (Canids): Coyote (pop.~6000), Grey Wolf (pop.~7000),
Red Fox (pop.~4000)
 Bears (Ursids): American Black Bear (pop.~75000), Grizzly
Bear (pop.~15000)
 Raccoons (Procyonids): Northern Raccoon (pop. ~50000).
 Weasels and relatives (Mustelids): Sea Otter (pop. ~5000),
Wolverine (pop. ~5500), Northern River Otter (pop. ~5000),
American Marten (pop. ~850000), Fisher (pop. ~25000),
Ermine (pop. ~20000000), Long-tailed Weasel (pop.
~2000000), Least Weasel (pop. ~2000000), American Mink
(pop. ~1000000), American Badger(pop. ~500)
 Skunks (Mephitids): Striped Skunk (pop. ~12000), Western
Spotted Skunk (pop. ~100000)
 Cats (Felids): Cougar (pop.~30000), Canada Lynx
(pop.~140000), Bobcat (pop. ~650000)

8. Sea Otter on
phylogenetic
tree of the order
Phylogenetic Tree
of the Organism
Because Carnivora is such a large order, there are both
differences and similarities between the organisms
within it. Some common characteristics for this order
include front and hind legs to travel around on land or
flippers in place of those legs to swim for aquatic
animals of this order. They are smart, often travelling in
groups when hunting to more easily catch prey.
Carnivora also have a strong sense of smell, hearing,
and vision to hunt down and catch prey. Some
differences include their diets, while some Carnivora are
carnivores, many are herbivores. Another example of a
difference would be their jaws which vary depending on
the species.
The sea otter is grouped with other Musteloidia and
share similar characteristics in their jaw and skull.
Musteloidia is quite similar to the Pinnipedia, a
diverse group of fin-footed, semi-aquatic marine
animals.

9. The sea otter in British Columbia is…
COSEWIC:Special Concern
BC Status: Blue
BC Wildlife Act: Threatened
BC Forest and Range Practices Act: None
SARA: Schedule 1
(according to the speciesatriskbc website)

10. In BC, species of the Carnivora order at risk of extinction
are the Grizzly Bear, American Badger, Wolverine, Fisher
Worldwide, species of Carnivora at risk of extinction are
the Iberian Lynx, Iriomote cat, Red Wolf, Darwin’s fox,
Cozumel racoon, Malabar large-spotter civet, Saimaa
ringer seal, Mediterranean monk seal, Ethiopian Wolf,
Hawaiian monk seal, Marine otter, Giant Otter, Black-
footed ferret, Island fox, Giant Panda, Bay cat, Dhole,
Andean mountain cat, Grandidier’s mongoose, Tiger,
Snow Leopard, African wild dog, Galapagos fur seal,
Australian sea lion, Galapagos sea lion, and the Caspian
seal.

11. Steps being taken to reduce the
risk of extinction for all sea mammals
include cleaning up oil and garbage
deposited into the ocean. Especially for
sea otters, the oil get stuck into the
layers of fur keeping them warm, This oil
eliminates the air bubbles in the fur
making the waters much more cold to be
living in. The oil, if ingested, can lead to
seizures, permanent lungs damage, brain
damage, or even death! Another step
being taken is moving of fish farms.
These farms can often trap a smaller sea
mammal, like the sea otter, which can
cause distress and ever death. By moving
these fish farms to different areas, there
is less likely a chance that they’ll get
trapped
Sea Otter with oil in it’s fur

12. The steps to take action and to prevent
the loss (or extinction) of sea otters is
to clean up after yourself when visiting
a beach or river or picking up trash
you see when you’re down by any of
these areas. This way, any trash that
could potentially end up in the ocean
could be kept out of it and the animals
living it wouldn't be surrounded by our
left overs.

13. The International Convention of Biological Diversity and Youth
Accord for Biodiversity is a group of people who want to
empower youth to think about how they can help the
environment and to recognize youth’s contribution in the
protection of biodiversity. They work with the Jane Goodall
Institute Of Canada, Environment Canada, Climate Girl, and St.
Laurent Academy (to name a few) to get these messages across
to youth. Their three main objectives, are:
 To conserve biological diversity,
 To use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion,
 To share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and
equitably.

15.  http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=157
 http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/bluske_
brit/adaptation.htm
 https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-
infobooks/otters/longevity-and-causes-of-
death
 Http://a-z-animals.com/animals/sea-otter/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_carnivoran
s_by_population
 http://biodiversitymatters.org/
 http://speciesatriskbc.ca/
 http://www.iucnredlist.org/
 http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cdc/