Sea otters and coastal mammals

Read about sea-otter fur, diets and tool use, compare river and sea otters, and explore seals, walruses and dugongs through specific biological evidence.

1. Animal profiles

   Sea otters: dense fur, high energy needs and coastal life ↗

   Sea otters stay warm through a groomed, air-trapping coat rather than a thick blubber layer. That insulation depends on clean fur and frequent care, while a high metabolic rate drives substantial food needs and makes undisturbed rest energetically useful.

2. Animal profiles

   Sea otters and river otters: visible differences and identification limits ↗

   For North American sea and river otters, combine body shape, tail, swimming posture, and habitat history. Coastal location alone is weak evidence: both may use salt water, while repeated behavior and several visible features provide a stronger, though still imperfect, identification.

3. Animal profiles

   What sea otters eat: prey, tools and individual specialization ↗

   Sea otters eat a varied menu of seafloor animals and, in some places, fish. Their forepaws, loose skin pouch and occasional rock tools help handle prey, while long-term studies show that individuals can develop different diets.

4. Animal profiles

   Walruses: tusks, whiskers and feeding on the seafloor ↗

   Pacific walruses use sensitive whiskers to locate seafloor prey and suction to draw soft animals into the mouth. Their tusks are elongated upper canines, while sea ice and coastal haulouts provide places to rest.

5. Animal profiles

   Harbor seals: whisker sensing, hauling out and pup encounters ↗

   Harbor seals rest, molt and raise pups at haulouts, and their whiskers can detect underwater wakes. A lone pup is not automatically abandoned: keep away, do not handle it, and contact authorized responders about apparent injury.

6. Animal profiles

   Northern elephant seals: deep dives, fasting and recovery ↗

   Northern elephant seals divide their lives between long offshore journeys and brief, demanding periods on land. Their repeated dives, breeding fasts and seasonal molt reflect linked adaptations, while a seal resting on a beach may be behaving normally.

7. Animal profiles

   Dugongs: seagrass specialists and how they differ from manatees ↗

   Dugongs are marine sirenians adapted to coastal seagrass meadows. Their fluked tails and feeding ecology help distinguish them from manatees, while shared ancestry and a distant surface view can make identification less certain than a simple nickname suggests.

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