The life of an Asian Small Clawed Otter By Ana

Table of Contents

Habitat Live in Indonesia, Southern China, Southern India, the Philippines, and southern Asia The climate is warm, near the dense foliage, and close to the equator Some rivers they live in are the Hong Shui, and the Yangtze rivers Habitat destruction can cause extinction

Food and Water Otters eat on fish, small animals such as crayfish They eat snakes, clams, snails, frogs, and earth worms Their diet is crab, mussels, frogs, and snails Otters mostly get food and water from the water Otters eat 20 to 25 percent of its body weight a day to survive

Daily Behavior Otters travel and live in groups of 12 individuals Otters are nocturnal sleep by day play by night Sometimes play fetch with a pebble Otters can hold their breathe below 4 minutes A mother otter takes care of baby's for almost a year During the year the parents teach the young how to swim, dive, catch food, groom their fur, and slide down slopes Humans killed otters to their fur for accessories Cars accidently killed otters when they crossed the road at night

Family Structures Baby's can only be born one at a time Pups eyes are closed for 5 weeks and no teeth Pups can swim 4 weeks after they are born Male and female stay together for three days after they mate Pups can float after they are born Pups have to be at least up to 2 years old to mate A pup is active within one day

Interesting Facts Otters were endangered but their population is growing Otters were also killed by pollution from oil, or strangled by fish nets Otters groom their fur everyday Otters have short legs with five fingers, and webbing on its feet Their fur is all the way to the feet but not on its finger Otters have special muscles that help them to close their ears and nose to keep water out 1 through 2 baby's at a time maximum is 6

Bibliography Lepthien, Emilie. Otters. Chicago: Children's press, zoo. Si education/ publications/ zoo goer/ 2006/ 5 otters. cfm