The Otter

One would think Ogden Nash otter have written a poem about the otter, I'm not sure how he missed it but he did. I'm certainly not going to write one but I do have a few things to say about the California Sea Otter. The otter is an amazing animal. Exceptionally cute, active, energetic and just fun to watch. Usually I see an otter on his back munching on abalone but this weekend I saw one swimming and he was moving fast. He would give a kick of his flippers and glide along on his stomach then turn over on his back and flipper kick and glide again then on his front, then on his back. I suppose this keeps him from overusing the same muscles and tiring. The otter's fur is extremely soft and warm, he has no fat to protect him from the cold ocean and can easily die if his coat becomes covered in oil. The CA sea otter popoulation was listed as threatened on the Endangered Species list in 1977 and currently numbers about 2,700. Numbers dipped this year but are up slightly over the last three years. The otter is the only mammal other than primates to use tools. An otter will find a favorite rock and keep it tucked under his arm while swimming. Then when he catches an abalone or sea urchin he wants to eat he puts the rock on his chest and slams his dinner against it to open the shell. When otters numbers were scarce in Monterey Bay the sea urchins flourished and decimated the kelp forests on which the urchins feed. Now that the otters have returned to the bay there is balance and the kelp forests have also recovered. So with all that there is to say about an otter really there otter be more poems about them!