Presentation on the theme of kulund or sea otter. River otter (lat. Lutra lutra). Man and animal

otter large animal with an elongated flexible body of a streamlined shape. Body length 5595 cm, tail 2655 cm, weight 6 10 kg. Paws are short, with swimming membranes. The tail is muscular, not bushy. Fur color: dark brown above, light silver below. The guard hairs are coarse, but the underfur is very thick and delicate.

The density of the woolly cover can reach 51 thousand per 1 cm 2. Such a high density of the undercoat makes the fur completely impervious to water and perfectly insulates the body of the animal, protecting it from hypothermia. The body structure of the otter is adapted for swimming under water: a flat head, short legs, a long tail.

The most common member of the otter subfamily. It is found in a vast area covering almost all of Europe (except the Netherlands and Switzerland), Asia (except the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa. In Russia, it is found everywhere, including on Far North in the Magadan region, in Chukotka.

It lives mainly in forest rivers, rich in fish, less often in lakes and ponds. Found on sea ​​coast. Prefers rivers with whirlpools, with rapids that do not freeze in winter, with washed-out water, littered with windbreak banks, where there are many reliable shelters and places for burrows.

The hunting grounds of one otter in summer make up a section of the river from 2 to 18 km long and about 100 m deep into the coastal zone. In winter, with the depletion of fish stocks and the freezing of polynyas, it is forced to roam, sometimes crossing high watersheds straight across. At the same time, the otter descends from the slopes, rolling down on its belly, leaving a characteristic trace in the form of a gutter. It travels up to 1520 km per day on ice and snow.

The otter feeds mainly on fish (carp, pike, trout, roach, gobies), and prefers small fish. In winter it eats frogs, rather regularly larvae of caddisflies. In summer, in addition to fish, it catches water voles and other rodents; in some places systematically hunts waders and ducks.

Hunting and use in agriculture pesticides have reduced the number of otters. In 2000, the common otter was listed on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List as "Vulnerable" (vulnerable) species. The species is listed in the Red Book of the Sverdlovsk region, Saratov and Rostov regions.

Otter- This is one of the types of mammalian predators, which is credited to the weasel family. The size of a mammal directly depends on the variety.

On average, they range from 50 cm to 95 cm, its length fluffy tail from 22 cm to 55 cm. this animal is quite flexible and has a muscular body. An interesting feature is the moment that an animal with dimensions of about a meter weighs only 10 kg.

Otters of all kinds have one color - brown or brown. Their fur is short, but thick, which makes it very valuable. In spring and summer, the otter has a molting period.

Otters are one of those who care and look after their fur, comb it, clean it. If they do not do this, the wool will become dirty and will no longer hold heat, and this will certainly lead to death.

Due to the small eyes, the otter sees perfectly on land and under water. They also have short legs and sharp nails. The paws are connected by membranes, which makes it possible to swim well.

When an otter dives into the water, its ear openings and nostrils are blocked by valves in this way, blocking the penetration of water into it. In pursuit of prey underwater, an otter can swim up to 300 m.

When a mammal senses danger, it makes a hissing sound. While playing with each other, they squeal or chirp. An interesting fact is that in some parts of the world the otter is used as a hunting animal. They are able to drive fish into the net.

The otter has a lot of enemies. Depending on their habitat, these may be predator birds, crocodiles, bears, stray dogs, wolves and jaguars. But man remains the main enemy, he not only hunts her, but pollutes and destroys her environment.

Habitat and lifestyle of the otter

An otter can be found on every continent, the only exception is. Due to the fact that their habitat is connected with water, they live near lakes, rivers and other bodies of water, and the water must also be clean and have a strong current. In the winter (cold) period, the otter can be seen in those parts of the river that are not frozen.

At night, the animal hunts, and in the daytime it prefers to rest. It does this in the roots of trees that grow near water or in their holes. The entrance to the hole is always built under water. For otter beaver benefits, she lives in the holes that he dug, since he does not build his own independent ones. If the otter is not in danger, they are active during the day.

If it becomes unsafe for an otter in its usual place, it can easily travel 20 km in search of a new home (regardless of the time of year). The paths she treads have been used by her for several years. It is interesting to observe the animal in winter period, he moves through the snow with jumps, alternating them by sliding on his stomach.

Depending on the species, otters react differently to captivity. Some become discouraged, stop caring for themselves, and may eventually die. The latter, on the contrary, are very friendly, quickly adapt to a new environment, and are quite playful.

Otter species

In total, there are 17 species of otters and 5 subfamilies. The most popular of them:

• river otter(ordinary).
• sea ​​otter(sea otter).
• Caucasian otter.
• Brazilian otter (giant).

The sea otter is marine mammal, kind otter beaver, so the sea otter is also called the sea beaver. Differs in large sizes, which reach up to 150 cm and weigh up to 45 kg.

They have a fairly dense fur, which makes it possible to not freeze in the water. Early 20th century otter population(sea otters) decreased significantly due to the large demand for fur.

At this stage, their numbers have increased significantly, but they cannot be hunted. It is very interesting to watch them, because the sea otters put their food in a “pocket”, which they have under the forelimb on the left. And in order to split, they use stones. Their life expectancy is 9-11 years, in captivity they can live for more than 20 years.

The giant otter can reach up to 2 meters, 70 cm of which belongs to the tail. Its weight is up to 26 kg. At the same time, the sea otter weighs much more, having smaller dimensions. Brazilian otters live in families of up to 20 individuals, the female is the main one in the family.

Their activity falls on the daylight hours, at night they rest. Their life expectancy is up to 10 years. The Caucasian otter is listed in the Red Book. The decrease in the population is due to pollution of water bodies, a decrease in the number of fish and poaching. Photo of an otter and their relatives can be found on the pages of our site.

Food

The otter's diet includes mainly, but they can also eat mollusks, eggs, crustaceans, and even some terrestrial rodents. Also not a friend otters and muskrat, which can easily get to a predatory animal for lunch.

Highly most Otters spend their lives in search of food, they are quite agile and fast. Due to their voracity and their habitats should be fish. This animal is a wonderful hunter, so after eating, the hunt does not end, and the caught fish act as a kind of toy.

Otters are of great benefit to the fishing industry, as they feed on non-commercial fish, which, in turn, eat eggs and fry. During the day, the otter eats about 1 kg of fish, while it is small in the water, and pulls the large one onto land. She carries out food in water in this way, puts it on her stomach and eats.

After the end of the meal, it carefully spins in water, cleansing the body of food debris. It is a pure animal. The animal does not react to the baits left by the hunters, so it is extremely difficult to attract the animal in this way, unless it must be very hungry.

Reproduction and life span of the otter

The period of puberty in the female otter occurs after two years, in the male after three. Animals are solitary. Mating takes place in water. The otter breeds once a year, this period falls in the spring.

The female is very interesting period gestation, after fertilization, it can stop in development, and then start again. For this reason, the female can bring offspring both at the beginning of winter and in the middle of spring (latent gestation can last up to 270 days). The gestation period lasts from 60 to 85 days.

The offspring is from 2 to 4 babies. They are born blind and in fur, vision appears after a month of life. In the second month of life, babies have teeth, and they learn to swim, at 6 months they become independent. After about a year, the babies leave their mother.

Average duration The life of an otter on average lasts about 15-16 years. The ranks of these wonderful animals are thinning considerably. The reason is not only polluted water bodies, but also poaching. Otter hunting prohibited by law. In some countries, this wonderful animal is listed in the book.

main value for hunters is otter fur- it is quite high quality and durable. Beaver, otter, muskrat are the main sources of fur, which they love to use for sewing various products.

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The river otter is predatory mammal an animal that lives more often in estuaries, less often on lakes and ponds.

This is a nimble, nimble and playful animal. In the recent past, its range extended for many kilometers, unfortunately of the old times, many of these places cannot be returned through the fault of man, she left forever and will never return to them.

Outwardly, its appearance strongly resembles. In general, the muscles of the animal are well developed; it is a fairly large and strong predator.

Body weight varies from 6 to 12 kg. The length of the elongated, elastic and streamlined body can reach from 55 to 100 cm. The length of the not fluffy, but rather muscular tail is 25 - 54 cm.

On four short limbs there are skin membranes that contribute to efficient rowing under water. On the back of the animal, the fur is gray-brown, and the belly is silvery.

The fur of the animal is very delicate and fluffy, in contrast to the outer coarse hair. The undercoat is very dense, so the animal is not threatened with hypothermia, as it remains waterproof.

We have already briefly mentioned its former range, it remains only to add that it lives in a small number in most of Europe, Asia, including North Africa. The exceptions are the Arabian Peninsula and the far north.

This animal is very shy and tries to keep away from human presence, leads a predominantly nocturnal and solitary lifestyle. Only during mating season they can be observed in small groups of no more than three individuals.

An adult male otter, going out to fish at dusk, is able to comb several reservoirs located within its territory; by the way, it can stretch along the river for 15 or even 17 kilometers. He carefully guards his rightful possessions and marks his area with feces. This tells other animals that this territory is occupied.

Unfortunately, it happens, sometimes fraught with the fact for animal life, when he moves from one lake to another, on the way he often gets into traps lined by local poachers and dies in them.

The area of ​​possession of a female with cubs is extremely small, however, as a rule, it necessarily intersects with the territory of the male - the father of the brood. It can coexist with several females at the same time, and during mating games- Mate with them several times.

Food

The main delicacy in his diet is fish, but this species is picky about food, and can eat quite diversely, here are just a few examples; mammals, and fish included in its daily menu:

• Water birds, for example; ;
• Crayfish;
• Young rabbits;
• Acne:
• Karasi:
• Chebaki;
• Scavengers;

But it is not full list, it can be continued and it will become much longer. The presence of eel fish in the pond gives our animal great pleasure and adds indomitable excitement, as this is the most favorite dish in its rich diet.

The trophy eats, getting out on aquatic algae or even on land near its lair. Young individuals start learning to swim quickly under water at the age of three months, because by this time the formation of a waterproof layer is completed.

it unique creation nature can breed all year round. When a female river otter starts rutting, the male finds her by smell and mates with her many times a day.

In the litter, there are from two to four cubs born in an underground hole located under the roots of trees growing near the coast. Occasionally, the female may borrow rabbit holes for living.

For the first month and a half, cubs are extremely vulnerable, caring mother feeds them with its nutritious and rich milk. Only the female brings up the cubs, the male will be driven away after the babies are born.

After 10 months, they can go out under the cover of darkness to hunt on their own, and by the year they leave their native nest and go looking for uninhabited places.

In the past, a real hunt was carried out on the otter, as its fur and skin were in demand in many countries. The following black streak in the life of the animal came in the mid-50s, severe pollution of water bodies served as a colossal reduction in the population.

Once, quite a long time ago, fish farmers made an attempt on the life of an animal, because they considered it a real pest, which was capable, as it seemed to them, of destroying all the fish in the reservoir.

In most countries, since the middle of the last century, the otter has been protected by law and is under the protection of the relevant services. In some countries European state specially bred this species of animals, then released into the wild.

AT wild nature common otter can live no more than 10 - 12 years.

1. The coat of the animal is covered with a fatty layer that does not allow to get wet and supercool.
2. The cub after birth weighs no more than 65 grams.
3. Swimming under water, she is able to hold her breath for a long time during this time the hunter can swim up to 400 meters.
4. The daily food intake should reach 20% of total mass body of a furry animal.