Food preferences vary among individuals. When otters are present, urchins hide in crevices and snack on kelp scraps. Because they have to eat so much, otters spend a lot of their time hunting and foraging for food -- they can dive more 300 feet when they're on the hunt. by seaottersdotcom | Oct 4, 2012 | sea otters. The sea otter’s high metabolic rate helps them to stay warm – to fuel it each day, they have to eat 20-30% of their body weight in food! Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). They hunt three to four times every day, relying primarily on their vision and touch. This inc… Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Sea urchins are one of the favourite foods of many lobsters, crabs, triggerfish, California sheephead, sea otter and wolf eels (which specialise in sea urchins). Sea otters have poor underwater vision but that doesn’t slow them down. Empower Her. Otters get urchin shells open primarily be hitting them, either with a rock or against a rock. A treaty was signed on July 7, 1911, that was designed to manage the commercial harvest of fur-bearing mammals (such as seals and sea otters) in the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea. They use the rock as a table against which they smash their shelled prey to g… Sea otters dive to rocky reefs, where they collect invertebrates and also a large rock. If you come across a sea otter you think is sick, injured or abandoned, please give it space and call The Marine Mammal Center’s stranding hotline at (415) 289-7325. Sea urchin fishing began in Japan soon after World War II before spreading to the entire Pacific Rim by the 1970s and within two more decades the practice would spread to the Atlantic region. Rounds keep repeating until one team wins (the other team is completely captured). The two are directly related in that sea otters prey on sea urchins, which in turn can help foster kelp beds because urchins feast on kelp. They are known to eat clams, mussels, crabs, octopus, sea urchins, snails, and fat innkeeper worms. Against the backdrop of climate change, the delicate underwater ecology of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands is hurting from declines in otters. Otters beat urchins, as otters eat urchins. Not all otters have the same taste in food, but the ones that have a weakness for urchins are easy to spot -- their teeth actually develop a purple hue from eating so many. Upon returning to the surface, they float on their backs, with the rock on the stomachs. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Did you know sea otters have built in pouches of loose skin under their forearms to stash extra prey when diving? A sea otter's diet consists mainly of slow-moving fishes and marine invertebrates including crabs, sea urchins, abalones, clams, mussels, and snails. Still hungry, the otter dives below the surface again. They may be cute and cuddly-looking, but otters are equipped to do serious damage with their choppers. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Sea urchins excrete waste matter through the top of their bodies. Want to watch cute sea otters romp, wrestle and play every day of the year? Purple sea urchins on rocky reef amid kelp forest. Sea otters obtain their food by diving. Tom Ryan is a freelance writer, editor and English tutor. Urchins beat kelp, as they munch on their blades. Kelp forests are desirable as productive nurseries for a wide range of sea life. To help the forest survive, researchers are trying to make these urchins a delicacy on menus at seafood restaurants. Also hedgehogs are often found in coastal waters. With the hellish look and feel of this echinoderm, one has to wonder why people actually want to eat what's inside. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Here are some viewing tips to help you enjoy watching sea otters and other marine wildlife in a safe and responsible way. They scrape clean rocks and coral covered in algae using their teeth, and their long tongue to eat the matter. But you'd be wrong! Did you know? When you see a sea urchin, you probably don't think that these spiny, scary-looking creatures are edible. Otter populations are growing in Southeast Alaska, Katchemak Bay … And eat they do—with gusto. An otter's paws and whiskers are particularly important for finding food in dark waters. Using her teeth, she chomps open the body and licks out the insides. Otter Eating image by Dawn from Fotolia.com. 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