Playful and intelligent, they'll have a specially designed home at the Aquarium. They were hunted to the brink of extinction for their fur in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. A small group was found in 1938 off the coast of Big Sur, California. There are usually 2-12 otters per raft. Sea otters sometimes wrap themselves in the kelp to keep from drifting away.
Sea otters have a strong sense of smell and good eyesight above and below water.
They use their whiskers to sense vibrations in the water. They have external ears like sea lions, they fold the ears down when they dive for food. Southern sea otters can grow up to four feet long and weight up to 100 pounds. They use tools for opening food. They often use rocks, shellfish or man-made objects to pry their food from rocks or to open it.