How big does a Sea otter get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) reaches an average size of 1.44 meter (4′ 9″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 30 years, they grow from 1.89 kg (4.17 lbs) to 27.46 kg (60.53 lbs). A Sea otter has 1 babies at once. The Sea otter (genus: Enhydra) is a member of the family Mustelidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
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:
- Hairy-nosed otter with a size of 76.5 cm (2′ 7″)
- Striped skunk with a size of 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Tayra with a size of 61.4 cm (2′ 1″)
- Long-tailed weasel with a size of 23 cm (0′ 10″)
- Chinese ferret-badger with a size of 38.5 cm (1′ 4″)
- Steppe polecat with a size of 43.5 cm (1′ 6″)
- Molina’s hog-nosed skunk with a size of 21.1 cm (0′ 9″)
- Hog badger with a size of 69.2 cm (2′ 4″)
- Sunda stink badger with a size of 44.2 cm (1′ 6″)
- Spotted-necked otter with a size of 59.7 cm (2′ 0″)
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:
- Galápagos fur seal with a size of 1.36 meter (4′ 6″)
- Jaguar with a size of 1.33 meter (4′ 5″)
- Philippine deer with a size of 1.26 meter (4′ 2″)
- Caspian seal with a size of 1.41 meter (4′ 8″)
- Markhor with a size of 1.59 meter (5′ 3″)
- Gerenuk with a size of 1.5 meter (5′ 0″)
- Iberian ibex with a size of 1.2 meter (4′ 0″)
- Anoa with a size of 1.58 meter (5′ 3″)
- Spotted seal with a size of 1.64 meter (5′ 5″)
- Sun bear with a size of 1.22 meter (4′ 1″)
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:
- Red-tailed sportive lemur
- Wagner’s bonneted bat
- Kolan vole
- White-eared titi
- Dwarf slit-faced bat
- Pygmy killer whale
- Naked-rumped tomb bat
- Japanese serow
- Eastern grey kangaroo
- Harp seal
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Sea otter
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Sea otter:
- Northern olingo with an average maximal age of 25 years
- Bearded seal with an average maximal age of 31.42 years
- Guadalupe fur seal with an average maximal age of 24 years
- American black bear with an average maximal age of 32 years
- California sea lion with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Gelada with an average maximal age of 28 years
- Geoffroy’s spider monkey with an average maximal age of 27.25 years
- Asian black bear with an average maximal age of 35.17 years
- Red deer with an average maximal age of 26.75 years
- Bharal with an average maximal age of 24 years
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:
- Rhim gazelle with a weight of 24.47 kilos (53.95 lbs)
- Antilopine kangaroo with a weight of 27.28 kilos (60.14 lbs)
- Red-fronted gazelle with a weight of 27 kilos (59.52 lbs)
- Western grey kangaroo with a weight of 25.58 kilos (56.39 lbs)
- Finless porpoise with a weight of 32.5 kilos (71.65 lbs)
- Giant anteater with a weight of 28.72 kilos (63.32 lbs)
- Roe deer with a weight of 22.45 kilos (49.49 lbs)
- Snow leopard with a weight of 32.5 kilos (71.65 lbs)
- Pyrenean chamois with a weight of 30 kilos (66.14 lbs)
- Thomson’s gazelle with a weight of 22.91 kilos (50.51 lbs)