Hobbies And Interests
Born to Swim
River otters are mammals, but they prefer to spend much of their time in water. Like ducks and other water birds, river otters have webbed hind feet to help them swim with ease. A river otter's tail also makes up about a third of its total length, and acts as an oar and rudder to help propel the otter through the water. When they swim, river otters can close their ears and their nostrils to keep water out. They can hold their breath for about eight minutes and can dive up to 60 feet deep.
Playful
Closely related to weasels, river otters have energy to spare and they love to play. They find slippery rocks and slide into the water on their bellies, or they leap in with somersaults and belly flops. They often enjoy wrestling matches with each other. When they do travel on land, they alternate running with sliding on their bellies. A river otter can slide up to 20 feet at a time at speeds of 18 miles an hour, according the National Geographic.
Hunters
A river otter's diet consists mainly of fish, crayfish or even turtles that they can catch underwater. If a catch is small, a river otter will turn onto its back and enjoy a relaxing meal floating on the surface of the water. Though they usually hunt for their food, river otters are not above scavenging. They occasionally dine on birds' eggs; and if they are desperate, might even eat an aquatic plant or two.
Social
Social animals, river otters can sometimes be found in groups, or families. A river otter can be picky about group membership, however. Most groups consist of females raising their young, and males are rarely found here. In fact, males and females don't often mix and mingle unless it's mating season, and even then they don't stay together long. Male river otters don't stick around to help a mother raise her babies (she would just chase him away anyway since he can be a danger to her pups). In some cases, single male otters will form groups to get some social interaction.
Dangers
In the past, river otters were hunted or exterminated to make room for an expanding human population. In some states, such as New Mexico, they may have been eradicated entirely. Laws protecting river otters are now enforced in several states, including Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming. They are occasionally targeted by other predators, such as eagles, bobcats and coyotes, but the main threats to river otter populations are climate change and habitat destruction. In fact, a wild river otter can expect to live an average of eight and a half years. In captivity, this life expectancy increases to 21 years.