Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 to 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals.
Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter’s primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter lives mostly in the ocean.
Sea otters have a small, round head, closeable nostrils, ears with flaps, and small eyes that are good for seeing in and out of the water. The nostrils and the ears close while underwater so that no water gets into them.
Southern sea otters are about 4 feet long including their 12-inch tails. Northern sea otters tend to be a little larger. Male sea otters are usually about 65 lbs. and females are about 20 lbs. less than males.
Sea otters today live in these places: the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, the Commander Islands, the Aleutian Islands, British Colombia, Vancouver Island, and Point Sur, California. Sea otters no longer live off the coast of Mexico, the Pribilof Islands, and Hokkaido.
This is because a long time ago too many people killed the sea otters and used the valuable thick sea otter fur for trading.
Sea otters are meticulously clean. After eating, they wash themselves in the ocean, cleaning their coat with their teeth and paws. They have good reason to take care of their coats—it helps them to remain waterproof and insulated against the cold. Sea otters have thick underfur that traps air to form an insulating layer against the chilly waters (they have no insulating fat). This coat is invaluable to otters, but it has worth to some humans as well.
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