Northern River Otter
Lontra canadensis
River Otter 2
Identification:
North American river otters are dark brown on top, with a silvery shimmer on the bottom. They have webbed feet and a tail that is thick at the base and gets smaller to the tip. River otters have a long neck, short legs, a flat head, sturdy claws, whiskers, and no hair on their nose. They have a layer of fat under their skin and dense, oily fur that protects them from cold. Males are slightly larger than females, with a head and body up to 66-127 cm long. Their tail can grow up to 43 cm. They can weigh between 4.5 and 11 kg.
Niche:
River otters are very important because they promote biodiversity. Without river otters, crayfish, frogs, turtles, aquatic insect larvae, angleworms, and fish would overpopulate. Those animals would take over and there would be no biodiversity. Otters are also important because they gives bears, eagles, wolves, coyotes and foxes food.
Sources:
http://www.letus.org/bmatters/animals/otter.html
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/river_otters.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_river_otter
Sources and Credits
- (c) Erin and Lance Willett, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/lance_mountain/532096550/
- Adapted by paintedturtle4321 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lontra_canadensis
