Eurasian Otter
Lutra lutra
Summary 2
The European otter (Lutra lutra), also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters.
Description 3
The elusive common otter has sleek brown fur, which is often paler on the underside, and a long lithe body with a thick tail and short legs (3). Adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle include webbed feet (3), the ability to close the small ears and the nose when under water, and very dense, short fur which traps a layer of air to insulate the animal. Many sensitive hairs ('vibrissae') frame the snout; these help the otter to locate prey (2). Vocalisations include a high-pitched whistle between a mother and her cubs, twittering noises produced during play-fighting and cat-like noises when fighting (2).
Habitat 4
Lutra lutra forage in water and nest on land. They inhabit rivers, lakes, streams, freshwater and peat swamp forests, ricefields, ocean shores, fjords, caves, and terrestrial habitats adjacent to waterways. Covered dens and dry resting sites are found in earth tunnnels, tree roots, boulder piles, shrubs, and banks. In its territory of 1 to 4 miles, each river otter has fixed locations for getting into and out of the water, rolling, sunbathing, and sliding on "otter stairways". (Grzimek 1990, Sivasothi 1994)
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; coastal
Fuentes y créditos
- (c) Biopix, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Lutra%20lutra%2023915.jpg
- Adaptado por Brian Martin del trabajo de (c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutra_lutra
- (c) Wildscreen, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6686540
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18655863
