It is hard to guess what a Sea otter weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) on average weights 27.46 kg (60.53 lbs).
The Sea otter is from the family Mustelidae (genus: Enhydra). It is usually born with about 1.89 kg (4.17 lbs). They can live for up to 30 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 1.44 meter (4′ 9″). Usually, Sea otters have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (31 and 99 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter’s primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean.The sea otter inhabits nearshore environments, where it dives to the sea floor to forage. It preys mostly on marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various molluscs and crustaceans, and some species of fish. Its foraging and eating habits are noteworthy in several respects. First, its use of rocks to dislodge prey and to open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, it is a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations which would otherwise inflict extensive damage to kelp forest ecosystems. Its diet includes prey species that are also valued by humans as food, leading to conflicts between sea otters and fisheries.Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range. A subsequent international ban on hunting, sea otter conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species occupies about two-thirds of its former range. The recovery of the sea otter is considered an important success in marine conservation, although populations in the Aleutian Islands and California have recently declined or have plateaued at depressed levels. For these reasons, the sea otter remains classified as an endangered species.
Animals of the same family as a Sea otter
We found other animals of the Mustelidae family:
- Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk bringing 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs) to the scale
- Hog badger bringing 8.17 kilos (18.01 lbs) to the scale
- Steppe polecat bringing 1.68 kilos (3.7 lbs) to the scale
- American marten with a weight of 878 grams
- Fisher (animal) bringing 3.75 kilos (8.27 lbs) to the scale
- Black-footed ferret with a weight of 907 grams
- Honey badger bringing 9 kilos (19.84 lbs) to the scale
- American badger bringing 7.84 kilos (17.28 lbs) to the scale
- Striped hog-nosed skunk bringing 2.01 kilos (4.43 lbs) to the scale
- Nilgiri marten bringing 2.04 kilos (4.5 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Sea otter
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Enhydra lutris:
- Maned wolf with a weight of 23.31 kilos (51.39 lbs)
- Common wallaroo with a weight of 25.99 kilos (57.3 lbs)
- Goitered gazelle with a weight of 26.84 kilos (59.17 lbs)
- Przewalski’s gazelle with a weight of 27.5 kilos (60.63 lbs)
- Red goral with a weight of 28.68 kilos (63.23 lbs)
- Long-tailed goral with a weight of 27 kilos (59.52 lbs)
- Red-fronted gazelle with a weight of 27 kilos (59.52 lbs)
- Dwarf blue sheep with a weight of 29.27 kilos (64.53 lbs)
- Giant anteater with a weight of 28.72 kilos (63.32 lbs)
- Goa (antelope) with a weight of 23.13 kilos (50.99 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Sea otter
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Sea otter:
- Naemorhedus sumatraensis with a size of 1.45 meter (4′ 10″)
- Spotted seal with a size of 1.64 meter (5′ 5″)
- Bighorn sheep with a size of 1.57 meter (5′ 2″)
- Western gorilla with a size of 1.6 meter (5′ 3″)
- Philippine deer with a size of 1.26 meter (4′ 2″)
- Cheetah with a size of 1.48 meter (4′ 11″)
- Hirola with a size of 1.6 meter (5′ 3″)
- Soemmerring’s gazelle with a size of 1.36 meter (4′ 6″)
- American black bear with a size of 1.38 meter (4′ 7″)
- Baikal seal with a size of 1.27 meter (4′ 3″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Sea otter
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Sea otter:
- Subantarctic fur seal
- Sharpe’s grysbok
- Black-crested Sumatran langur
- Sitatunga
- Bharal
- Dall sheep
- Senegal bushbaby
- Oncilla
- Cyclops roundleaf bat
- Natterer’s bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Sea otter
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Sea otter:
- South American sea lion with an average maximal age of 24.75 years
- European wildcat with an average maximal age of 31 years
- Collared mangabey with an average maximal age of 30 years
- White-bellied spider monkey with an average maximal age of 28 years
- King colobus with an average maximal age of 30.5 years
- Common genet with an average maximal age of 34 years
- Canada lynx with an average maximal age of 26.75 years
- Potto with an average maximal age of 26 years
- Brown-mantled tamarin with an average maximal age of 24.5 years
- Sun bear with an average maximal age of 24.75 years