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Adaptation strategies in otters
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Introduction
The otter is a carnivorous mammal in the Weasel family, also known as the Mustelidae family. It also includes other animals such as weasels, minks, badgers and wolverines. All current species are semi-aquatic, aquatic or marine. There are a number of Otter species such as the Oriental small-clawed otter, European otter, North American river Otter, Sea otter and Giant otter. The Oriental small-clawed otter is the smallest otter and the Giant otter is the largest otter, and longest member of the weasel family.
Modern Organism
Appearance
River otters have slender and streamlined bodies. Sea otters have broader bodies and have larger rib cages. The colour of their fur can range from light beige to dark brown or nearly black. Their legs enable them to swim, walk, groom and manipulate prey. River otters have webbed fingers and non-retractile claws on all feet. Congo and Asian otters have small claws with partial webbing. Giant otters have large feet with thick webbing and
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For otters who spend almost all their time in water, such as the Sea otter, their diet mostly consists of fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Their teeth are specially adapted to eating shellfish which allows them to crush shells and scoop out the meat. Sometimes to eat crustaceans and molluscs, otter hold a rock on their chest and repeatedly pounds the prey against the rock until it breaks or opens.
Otters have a high metabolic rate because they need to maintain their body temperature. To generate body heat, they must eat a substantial amount of food. River otters eat around 15 – 20% of their body weight every day, and Sea otters eat about 25 – 30% of their body weight daily. Sea otters require more food to maintain their body temperature because they have no blubber, unlike most marine animals and they spend much more time in water compared to other otter species, which causes them to lose body heat
1.A lot of people are misinformed, have misconceptions, or might not have any idea at all about what these animals are about. The ferret family, which includes weasels, mink, polecats, martins, skunks, badgers, otters, wolverines, and the endangered black-footed ferret. Early Greek literature suggests that unlike its cousins, the ferret has been domesticated for approximately two to three thousand years.
Introduction Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are marine mammals capable of spending their entire lives in water. Being carnivorous in nature, they feed on sea urchins, crabs, fishes, mussels and clams. They are referred to as keystone species due to their profound impact on marine ecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model for the impact of predator-prey interactions on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the populations of sea urchins, which indirectly affects the populations of kelp forests & other marine organisms.
Many may not have known; but, Grizzlies are not picky eaters. Grizzlies are opportunistic eaters, and will eat whatever is available to them at the time. This makes it easy for them to find food, because of the variety of foods they can eat.They are also omnivorous, meaning; they eat both plants and animals. A grizzly bear may eat plants; including: grass, roots, tubers, seeds, moths, wild berries, insects, fungi, nuts and other plants. They also will eat animals such as: small rodents, elk, bison, moose, carrion (decaying flesh of dead animals), salmon, trout, bass, crabs, and others. A misconception people tend to have is that the grizzly bear is stingy with its food and doesn’t like to be around other bears while eating. However, when there is much food in the area; the grizzly bear doesn’t mind eating with other bears. Although, once the food source has gone down; the grizzlie’s will go their separate ways to search for more food. A specific food that grizzly bears like to eat is salmon. Many times the salmon will return to the river, they were born in, and make their way upstream. Fishing for salmon in late summer is the best way for grizzlies get the food they can store up as fat. During this time the grizzly bears gorge themselves on the salmon, eating about 25 fish per day to put on extra weight. When there are many fish for the Grizzlies to feed on they’ll eat about
These Central and South american rodents look a little like pigs, also they eat plants.They enjoy fruits and grasses. Their fur can vary from red to brown. They live in swamps or near other bodies of water. They use this water to hide from predators and for a food supply. This animal was very interesting to learn about because I learned many new
Wolves were once also native from Iowa. They remain on the endangered species list because of their low numbers. We have records saying that the last wolf that lived here was all that way back in 1925. There has only been one wolf seen since then and it was shot all the way down in Buchanan County. That was the first wolf seen and killed since 1925 that we have on record. The wolves are no longer here because in the 1900’s people were killing them off for their pelts that they used for currency or trade. We also killed them because people were very scared of them because they were mean and they usually run in numbers, known as “Packs”. There’s also a little creature from Iowa. The river otter once was full in this river. They weren’t just killed off here it was large parts of central and western part of The United States. That took place during the Mid-twentieth century. The otter’s were abundant during the European settlement. We killed them off again only for their pelts. After about 1890 in iowa they only existed on the mississippi river of
A large part of the whale's diet is made up of small shrimp-like animals called krill, which the animal strains with its plates of baleen. In order to get enough of these small creatures to eat, a blue whale has to filter large amounts of water. Folds of skin on its throat expand like an accordion to allow the whale to gulp in as much as 64,600 liters (17,000 gal) of water at one time. The whale then pushes its tongue (which can be as large as a Volkswagen) to the roof of its mouth in order to force out the water. Food is caught in the hairs of the baleen and swallowed. A blue whale weighing 75 to 80 tons eats about 4 tons of krill per day during the feeding season.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters were hunted for their luxurious pelts, and by the early 1900s, the species was believed to be extinct in California. (Carswell) Why do we care you ask, well not only are they super cute and eat with their hands. Apparently, a healthy population of sea otters keeps the sea urchin population in check. An unhealthy or small population of sea otters allows the sea urchin’s number to explode thus decimating kelp beds, which is the sea urchin’s food source, and causing a “chain reaction that depletes the food supply for other marine animals consequently causing their decline. (Kuipers)
Such sea life as shrimp, squid, small sharks, other vertebrates and fish are all a part of a Bottle-nosed dolphins diet. When they find a large school of fish, several schools of dolphins join up to form groups of up to 1000 dolphins. They work together to head and catch the fish. Another feeding method the Bottle-nosed dolphin has developed is chasing the fish on to mud banks and snaps them in the air.
Not many people know about the arctic wolf, it is the snowy white version of a wolf. They have a really big appite when it comes to eating. They most only eat one meal a day and eat up to 20 pounds in that one meal. They are mostly carnivores; they mainly eat big animals like the caribou and the musk ox so they can feed themselves and the whole pack (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). People eat up to three meals a day, but wolves can go up to days with out eating a single thing (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). When wolves are hunting they have to be able to have a plan to catch their food. Wolves would get all the pack members that are hunting to surround the animal, and pounces on them. One bit to the neck and the animal would be dead. When they are eating they will eat everything, like the meat, shin, fur and bone (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Also Arctic wolves can live up to 20 years in captivity, while they can only live 7- 15 years in the wild (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Arctic wolves are one of the most prettiest and unique types of wolf. When Arctic wolves are pups t...
The capture and control of a breathtaking and majestic creature such as a killer whale is a very tedious subject. Most of the general public would enjoy viewing a show where these giant mammals jump out of the water and perform stunning tricks for viewer satisfaction. But what the public doesn’t see, or realize is that these animals could be severely depressed and could be lacking mandatory stimulation through social bonds and other factors the ocean could give them rather than an oversized bath tub. The ethicalities of keeping such an intelligent animal like an orca in captivity has been under scrutiny for years in the marine biology community. Despite the controlled environments for orcas, these environments cause psychological and social problems to the animals and are worse than nature. There is a distinguishable trait in killer whales in captivity that doesn’t appear in whales in the wild, the dorsal fin of the animal in captivity almost always droops over to one side or the other, and less than one percent of all whales in the wild have been recorded in having this trait. This could be directly related to the depressing life an orca in captivity faces in a closed off world with limited stimulation from the animals incredibly in depth social attributes.
porpoises and other small whales and sea birds at the surface in its diet (I 65). These sharks also eats many kinds of fish, such as capelin, char, herring, halibut, lumpfish and even salmon. There has even been fast swimming fish found with its tail bitten off inside ...
The wide paws prevent sea ice from breaking by distributing weight while walking. Their paws allow them to pull a 600 pound seal out of its breathing hole (Rosing, 20). The webbed feet result in making polar bears, unlike other bear species to be considered as marine mammals along with seals, sea lions, walruses, whales and dolphins (Polar Bear). According to Rosing, Polar bears are excellent swimmers and have been known to swim up to six miles an hour and as far as 60 miles at a stretch. Bears paddle with their front feet and steer with their back feet.
tail. They have gray or rosy brown backs with lighter gray or brown hind legs and have
The arctic fox or the Vulpes Lagopus is a very beautiful and majestic animal with many interesting features. This animal can survive extremely frigid arctic temperatures that can drop as low as -50°F. The arctic fox is a very resilient animal. It has furry soles, short ears, and a short muzzle, which are the essentials of what is needed for the animals to adapt to the chilly climate. These foxes usually live in burrows and in emergencies like snowstorms, strong winds or animal conflict, they may tunnel into the snow and create a shelter for them. They have a beautiful white coat that protects them from the hardy weather. Amusingly, when the season changes, the fox changes its coat color making it a unique animal. In winter, their coat is white where as in summer its turns into an orange-red color. This is mostly because it helps them camouflage in the surrounding. These colorings help foxes to effectively hunt rodents, birds, fish and even baby polar bear cubs. But in winter prey can be scarce on the ground. At such times, these animals eat the left over kill of the polar bear. These foxes will also eat berries when they are available. Its coat has been known for its strange adapting qualities, it is a rarity in science today and therefore is highly researched. Not only does it have a thick coat that helps them camouflage and protects them from the cold, but also has the ability to run extremely fast. It is known to be one of the fastest animals in the arctic region.
The polar bear has a long, narrower head and nose, and small ears. The polar bear has coat that appears white but, each individual hair is actually a clear and hollow. This helps the polar bear keep warm. The polar bear's coat helps it blend in with its snowy surroundings, this adaptation helps the Polar Bear hide while hunting. The polar bear's front legs are slightly pigeon-toed, and fur covers the bottoms of its paws. These adaptations help the polar bear keep them from slipping on ice.