Oriental Small Clawed Otter

Oriental Small Clawed Otter

Searching deep in the lake the Oriental Small Clawed Otter, when hungry, hunts for its snack. Once he has found it, he captures it with his forefeet. Using his upper teeth he is able to bite right through the exoskeleton of the crab, enjoying the juicy tender meat. After he is finished he goes back to his den made of driftwood. There he grooms his greyish-brown fur to keep its insulating qualities. He is about medium sized, 28 to 30 inches and his tail would be about 12 inches long. His head is a little flat and his eyes are located towards the middle of his face. When it communicates the otter has over 12 vocalizations, and they use some of them to mark territory. They love to swim and play with each other.

After a long day of swimming the otter would roll on the ground or rub on a log to dry themselves. The Oriental Small Clawed Otter can last up to 6-8 minutes under water, so hunting for food is easy. Their forefeet are helpful because they use them to capture their food and "Their hind feet says wildlife explorer states, "Are used for swimming." "Their eyes stay shut for 40 days after birth," states the wildlife explorer. According to the wildlife explorer, "Their number of young is 1-6 but usually 1-2." One of the most interesting facts is that if several otters are swimming in one straight line with their backs out of the water their backs can be mistaken for the humps of a sea monster. Its genus and species is "Aonyx Cinera" that is also the species for the African Otter. Although they are the same species the African otter is much bigger, and weighs up to 75lb and just like the Oriental Small Clawed Otter and the Asian Otter they all have white markings on their faces, chests and throat. The Oriental Small Clawed Otter is one otter that loves to swim and definitely loves to snack on crabs.