Sea Otters
The sea otter has made many adaptations in order to survive better in its habitat. First, the sea otter has a lot of insulating fur to keep warm, they use their feet to reduce or maximize heat loss when water temperatures are too hot or too cold. When the water temperatures are too cold sea otters reduce heat loss by floating on their backs with their feet out of the water. When the sea otter is trying to lose heat, they extend their feet underwater to maximize their surface area, to preserve body heat sea otters tend to fold up their feet. Unlike other marine mammals, the sea otter does not have a layer of blubber to help keep it warm.
The sea otter has very good eye sight which allows them to see underwater and on land. They are one of the few animals known to use tools, they use small rocks or other objects to hammer or pry open its food. The sea otter can dive up to 330 ft when foraging for food and has the thickest fur in the animal kingdom. Sea otters have long whiskers growing around their muzzle to detect fish. They do this by detecting vibrations in the water caused by the tail of the fish; this helps them hunt in any water condition. The molars of the sea otter are very different than other animals; these molars are for crushing things and not for fish slicing and things of that nature.
When the sea otter is underwater, its ears and nostrils close. They have webbed hind feet which are perfect for swimming; its forefeet are smaller with semi-retractable claws. Since a sea otter must generate a large amount of heat to maintain its body temperature, it must eat about 20 lbs of food a day, abalone is a favorite food. The sea otter sleeps and rests on its back, usually anchored in a kelp bed. It sleeps at sea, sometimes joining hundreds of others in resting areas called rafts. Sea otters give birth in the ocean, they typically have one pup that weighs 3-5 pounds, and females give birth about every one to two years.