They are notorious for body surfing down snowy hills. Sea Otters typically eat amphibians, smaller fish, mollusks, mussels, snails, and smaller underwater creatures. The researchers say the effect on sea otters is devastating: one killer whale can eat nearly 2,000 of them in a year. Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world … They are marine mammals, existing almost exclusively in the Pacific Ocean, and rarely coming ashore. A male killer whale would need to eat 5 (4.66) male sea otters or 7 (6.9) females per day. Their diet ranges from small fish, seals, sea lions, rays, sea otters, turtles, dolphins, and baleen whales. The reason for this is because sea otters eat sea urchins and sea urchins eat kelp. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Secondly, what eats sea otters answer? How do the otters keep warm? Common predators of sea otters include various predatory marine mammals such as orcas and sea lions. A sea otter may hunt on the seafloor but always returns to the surface to eat. That said, the size of the kelp forest depends on the animals who live there. This crash began in the early 1990s, in the same year as one of the first confirmed sightings of a killer whale attacking a sea otter. By controlling the size and number of sea urchins (sea urchins are one of their favorite foods, and they eat the larger ones first), sea otters created the opportunity for kelp to grow and flourish, which in turn created habitat for numerous other kelp forest dwellers. For an orca, a sea otter is a very small, very hairy hors d’oeuvre. When the ants encounter caterpillars or caterpillar eggs on the plant’s leaves, they either eat them or kick them off. What do sea otters eat? Common predators of sea otters include various predatory marine mammals such as orcas and sea lions. Sea otters may venture onto land but function best at sea. What do sea otters eat? affected. The otters have thick, hard fur of a brownish color, a light belly and a muzzle. It prefers to eat invertebrates like crabs, snails, urchins, clams, abalone and mussels — for breakfast, lunch, dinner and between-meal snacks! You take otters out of the system, urchins become abundant and they eat all the kelp. Alaskan sea otters weigh between 35 and 90 pounds—and that includes lots of hair. Killer whales are carnivorous, so their full-time diet consists of meat. First, Williams determines that the average orca needs to eat the equivalent of five to seven sea otters a day just to get by. What caused the loss of sea otters along the coasts of Washington State and Oregon? THE SEA OTTER, nearly driven to extinction earlier this century, is being threatened by a new enemy - killer whales. Do Other Killer Whales Eat Moose? No. Sea otters have a high metabolic rate (that is, they use a high amount of energy) that is 2-3 times that of other mammals their size. Sea otters eat sea urchins in abundance where they both occur but also prey on crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. Besides, they also prefer to eat crabs, large barnacles, mussels, snails, tubeworms, clams, squid, octopuses, chitons, scallops, sea cucumbers, sea stars and abalone. To merely call them the wolves of the sea is a gross underestimation. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Sure enough, the seal and sea lion population had also declined. While on land, pups may also face threats from predators such as bears and coyotes. ... Otters And Orcas Have The Same Problem. In some cases they may also eat squid and octopus. The main enemies of sea otters are killer whales (killer whales). Killer whales are about 26 feet long and eat 3 to 4 percent of their body weight a day. Orcas usually ignore sea otters, preferring seals and sea lions, which are much larger and provide lots of calories with each blubbery bite. If orcas start to eat more sea otters than normal, the sea otter population would decrease, giving the sea urchins a better chance of surviving. (16 Oct. p. [473][1]) poses an intriguing explanation for the recent precipitous decline of sea otters in the Aleutian Islands. Orcas were eating otters because the really big whales they used to eat were nearly wiped out by commercial whalers back in the 1950s. Before his rise to fame, Jaws was Chuck Norris's goldfish. The young otters are hunted by sharks, predatory seabirds and animals. Sea otters usually have a single pup, born in the water. Sea otters eat about 20-30% of their body weight each day. However, it is true that the cost to clean and rehabilitate oiled sea otters was about $80,000 per animal. Sea otters eat sea urchins in abundance where they both occur but also prey on crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks. Otters can eat the spiky urchins whole, making them the major urchin predator. Also the enemy is a man. The body is dense, cylindrical, oblong, and the paws are short and strong. Sea otters eat 25 to 30 percent of their body weight each day in seafood, including sea urchins, fish, clams, snails, worms, sea stars, crabs, squid, octopus, and abalone. The killer whale (also known as the orca) generally did not consume sea otters in the past, but now consumes thousands of otters. Sure enough, the seal and sea lion population had also declined. A decline in … One of the things sea otters eat is Dungeness crab, which happens to be Oregon's single most valuable commercial fishery. 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