For whatever reason, some wild animals are near and dear to people’s hearts. They have a universal appeal, resulting in admiration across the masses of people. For example, many are obsessed with owls. Any kind of owl. Big ones, small ones, it really doesn’t matter.

The same can be said for other wild critters, such as otters. For whatever reason, everyone seems to love otters. This was on full display last week while I was leading a photographic tour of Bald Eagles and Sea Otters in Alaska. For 5 days my small group of photographers spent six hours a day photographing Bald Eagles and Sea Otters.

There are 13 species of otter in the world ranging in size from the Small-clawed Otter, which is less than three feet long, to the Giant Otter which stretches six feet long. All otters are semiaquatic or marine mammals in the weasel family. They can be found on every continent except for Antarctica and Australia.

The Sea Otter (Enhyrda lutri) is the heaviest of the otter species. Males can weigh upwards of 100 pounds. Females are noticeably smaller. This makes Sea Otters the heaviest of the weasel family but also makes them one of the smallest of all the marine mammals. When you get up close to a Sea Otter you notice right away that they are very large animals, reaching 4-5 feet long including their short tail.

They live in cold ocean environments and their primary form of insulation from the cold water is not fat but rather fur. They have an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. They have up to one million hairs per square inch covering their body. The density of the fur prevents water from reaching the body. Otters have two layers of fur, a dense underfur for insulation and longer guard hair that helps keep water off the underfur.

Sea Otters lack blubber, a fatty layer which is common in other marine mammals. Pups are born with a buoyant coat of fur that helps them to float. However, it was the very fur that almost killed off the Sea Otter. Starting in the mid 1700’s Sea Otters were killed for their fur. By the mid 1900’s populations were down to only 1,000 to 1,500 total animals alive. It was believed that the Sea Otter would become extinct due to uncontrolled trapping. Recovery has been slow and now there are small populations in 13 regions around the world, from Japan to Russia, British Columbia, California and Alaska.

To maintain their warmth and life in the ocean, Sea Otters consume at least 20 percent of their body weight in marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, sea cucumbers, mollusks, clams and mussels. Surprisingly, unlike River Otters, fish are not a big part of their diet, although they occasionally eat birds such as loons and grebes.

Like others in the mustelid family, Sea Otters reproduce at any time of year. This means that young otters are born even in the middle of winter. We spent many days on a boat looking for the Sea Otters and we found several mothers with babies which made for some adorable images. When we approached in the boat, the mother otters seemed to be more curious than cautious. They hold their babies with their two front paws to their chest and float around on their backs. Using a very long lens we were able to capture some intimate moments between the mother otter and pup. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. He can be contacted via his website at www.NatureSmart.com.