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Finding Food
Sea otters can dive up to 180 feet in search of food. An otter uses it’s nose and whiskers to help him in finding food and to detect vibrations under the water.
They also use a pouch or flap of skin located under their forearm to store food until they get back home. Once in a while, otters have been spotted floating on their backs shaking an aluminum can because worms were inside the can and they enjoy eating worms.
Eating and Drinking
Sea otters drink about one cup of salt water per day. They will eat almost anything that is available to them. The otters use their forelegs and paws to pry open food like abalone. Sharp teeth aid the otters in
handling slippery food like squid. Sometimes an otter will lie on its back, take a rock and crack open a clam. Otters are one of the few animals who use tools to open up their food. In captivity trainers give otters blocks of ice with shrimp inside to keep them busy using tools.
Some otters even stick their favorite tool in their armpit to save it for further use. A baby sea otter will be given milk by its mother. By the time they get 2 1/2 months old they go on dives with their
mother for urchins crabs, and shellfish. Eventually baby otters will be taught to use tools. To maintain a normal body temperature, adult otters have to eat about 25% of their body weight per day. For an
average adult male that would be about 50 sea urchins a day! For a 150 pound person, this would be the same as eating 160 quarter pound hamburgers.
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