Southern Sea Otter
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| Southern Sea Otter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| カリフォルニアラッコ | |||
| Character Data | |||
| AKA | Californian Sea Otter, California Sea Otter
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| Romaji | Kariforunia rakko
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| Debut | Kemono Friends (2015 Game) | ||
| Animal Data | |||
| Scientific Name | Enhydra lutris nereis
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| Distribution | ?
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| Diet | Omnivore
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| Avg. Lifespan | ?
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| Read More | Sea otter
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| Conservation | 
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| Southern Sea Otter | Festival | Pavilion | KF3 | Nexon Game | Gallery |
Southern Sea Otter is a type of Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.
Appearance
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Series Appearances
| Media | Role | |
|---|---|---|
In Real Life
The southern, or California, sea otter ranges along the coast from San Mateo County southward through Monterey County and down to Santa Barbara County.
Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters don't have a thick layer of blubber. To stay warm in chilly ocean waters, they wear the world's densest fur—at its thickest, this two-layer fur is made up of more than a million hairs per square inch. (You've probably got 100,000 hairs or less on your whole head!) In order to keep their luxurious coats waterproof, otters spend many hours a day cleaning and grooming. Such good grooming coats their fur with natural oils from their skin and fluffs it with insulating air bubbles.
Historically, sea otters numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the North Pacific Ocean. But due to the fur trade, their numbers plummeted in the early 1900s. The threat to the southern sea otter posed by oil spills prompted its listing as a threatened species in 1977.
The sea otter is considered a keystone species, one that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Sea otters feed on sea urchins, playing a critical role in maintaing the health of kelp forest ecosystems. They also consume filter-feeding benthic invertebrates, resulting in the removal of contaminants and disease-causing pathogens from near-shore waters. Sea otters are highly effective sentinels of the health of our ocean.
Trivia
- An otter's coat has pockets—pouches of loose skin under each forearm. An otter uses them to stash prey during a dive, which leaves its paws free to hunt some more.
- Sea otters have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, ranging from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch, which helps insulate them.