The Northern River OtterBy Zoe Kirchner

Description The River Otter has

brown-to-black fur with a gray belly and chin. River Otters have very small ears and eyes. River Otters have waterproof fur which helps them stay warm in any water temperature. It is usually ten to thirty lb. , two and a half to three and a half feet in length, and eleven to twenty inches when standing. The River Otter is a mammal.

Habitat The Otter lives

on banks of rivers, small lakes, and ponds, in logs or dens made of mud and twigs. It sometimes lives in elevations up to 8,500 feet! Sometimes it lives by big lakes in bays.

DietThe River Otter

mostly eats small fish, crayfish, frogs, small mammals, and even aquatic insects. It eats its food as soon as it catches it. The River Otter has really sharp claws, and whiskers that can detect organisms.

Life Cycle The otter lives seven to twenty years. About 6 pups ( baby otters) are born in a year. The gestation length is usually two months, maybe even a year! Pups are nursing every four hours for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. Pups are born with eyes closed and toothless and very playful!

Other Interesting facts Otters eat 15% to

20% of their body weight everyday!

An otters nostrils can close while their swimming so water doesn’t go into its nose.

Otters sometimes take naps lying in the water on their backs floating around or hanging on to a strip or seaweed.

Bibliography Book one: Tekiela, Stan. Mammals of Colorado .

Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications Inc., 2007 . Book two: Miller , Sara. Otters. New York, NY:

Rosen Publishing Group Inc., 2008. Internet one: Northern River Otter . Wikpedia.

28 Apr. 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_River_Otter

Internet two: Northern River Otter. Animal Diversity Web. 29 Apr. 2009 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lontra_canadensis.htm