Sea Otter Defends Her Ice Treats With Her Flippers! #shorts

#kpassionate #otter #seaotter
Sea otters love fish and they love ice cubes, so it’s only natural that in the mind of a sea otter… a fish frozen in an ice cube is worth its weight in gold! This video of a sea otter named Katmai defending her ice treats from rival otters (and myself) is not only adorable… but actually shows off some really interesting adaptations that allow sea otters to thrive in the wild.

First, sea otters have pockets! You can see several ice treats tucked into the folds of extra skin underneath Katmai’s armpits. In the wild, otters will spend up to 20 minutes foraging underwater for as many clams, mussels, and sea urchins as they can fit in their pockets. Otters will also use these pockets to store tools, like a rock that is particularly good at cracking into shells.

Second, while their front paws are extremely dexterous and tactile, their hind limbs evolved into flipper-like paddles. However, the bone structure of their flippers are no different than the bones of human feet. They have the same phalanges, tarsal bones, and metatarsal bones that you and I have as you can clearly see when Katmai uses her hind flippers to keep my hand away from her treats. Additionally, her toes are webbed which allow her to swim gracefully underwater.

Sea otters are known for a lot of things; voracious appetites, adorable fuzzy faces, but sharing their treats is not one of them! Our sea otters love ice treats and Kunik here is a firm believer in every otter for themselves!

Want to know why a sea otter's insatiable appetite is a key part of fighting climate change?! I explain here → https://youtu.be/MnL6VJ7KeHU

This sea otter was found on the side of an Alaskan highway at just 2 months old. It was believed she was separated from her mother during a vicious storm. I was one of the lucky biologists who assisted in her rehabilitation and transfer from the Alaskan SeaLife Center to the Vancouver Aquarium where she found a permanent home and all the otter ice treats she could possibly want. She is named Katmai, after Katmai National Park in Alaska.

Join the KPassionate channel to learn more about marine mammals like sea otters and gain access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvSqEH92Fqn9uw1kmCfLGA/join
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ccheck out our Patreon for more ways to support the KPassionate channel! We provide early access to videos, your name in the credits of our videos, and bonus content!
→https://www.patreon.com/kpassionate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learn more about the amazing amarine mammals that I work with: →https://www.youtube.com/c/KPassionate
Come chat with me live and ask your animal questions: →https://www.twitch.tv/kpassionate
Follow my social media for more adorable content:
→Twitter: https://twitter.com/kp_assionate
→Instagram: https://instagram.com/kp.assionate
→TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@k_passionate
Chat with my community any time here:
→https://discord.gg/YuuHNm2t2E
Buy Merch here:
→https://kpassionate.creator-spring.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------