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Maria Sanchez, age 10, of Glendale, Ariz., for her question:

WHERE DO OTTERS LIVE?

The otter belongs to the weasel family. You'll find him living on every continent except Australia. Although there's a sea otter that lives in the Pacific Ocean, most of the other otters live along fresh water, rivers, streams, lakes or marshes.

The otter is a great swimmer and diver. He can stay under water for up to four minutes at a time. When he moves to land, he becomes very awkward.

Although there's a giant otter of South America that can grow to be seven feet long, most of the world's other otters grow to be three to four feet long and weigh from 10 to 30 pounds.

An otter will eat crayfish, crabs and fish. Although sometimes they catch trout, most of the times they capture fish that are much slower. Also on the otter's diet are clams, frogs, insects, snakes, snails and occasionally waterfowl.

Otters are active all through the year and don't take time out in winter to hibernate. They are more active at night than during the day. They usually hunt alone but occasionally hunt in family groups.

Burrows in river banks or under rocky ledges, or abandoned dens of other animals usually provide a home for the otter. Most females give birth to two or three young at a time. The little ones are called pups or cubs and are born blind. They do not even try to swim until they are several months old.

Otters are a bit like beavers and muskrats. They have long coarse hairs that extend over and seem to protect the short, thick underfur. This underfur acts as a buffer and keeps the otter's skin dry by trapping a layer of air.

Some otters have a thick layer of fat under their skins to insulate them from cold water and cold air.

An otter's tail is as long as its body. The head is flat and wide with rounded ears. The blunt snout has lateral nostrils that seem almost like little slits. Both the nostrils and the ears can be closed when the otter is diving.

A webbing that is rather elastic grows between the otter's toes. The webbing helps the animal to swim fast.

Often you'll find otters using their paws to handle objects. They hold and play with stones and small shellfish.

All otters have claws. There's one type called the clawless otter, but even this species has short claws on three middle toes of its hind feet.

Otters can make a wide variety of sounds. They have a warning growl as well as all sorts of chirps, chuckles, screams and squeals. The various sounds seem to be used to express various feelings.

 

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