Talk:Sea otter

message: Right in "Evolutions" section it says that sea otters have no anal scent glands.
In "Predators" section, it says that predators avoid the sea otters because of scent glands.
Can there be clarification on where the scent glands are, that the predators are avoiding, because it probably isn't the anal scent glands?  Thanks!
192.33.240.95 (talk) 18:03, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
replies: text:  Removed. Thank you User:192.33.240.95 and Nebulancer both for bringing this up. Cheers, Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 05:14, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Scent Glands y/n?

message: I came to this article to find out more about the sea otters that live near my apartment in Lumut, Malaysia. This article concentrates mostly on US and Canadian sea otters, with very little mention of Asian otters. In fact, the article implies that otters' southernmost range in Asia is Japan. This is clearly wrong, as I live near the equator.
I'd appreciate someone with more knowledge of sea otters adding balance to this article with some more information on Asian sea otters.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Newzild (talk • contribs) 04:50, 24 February 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) don't occur there. You may be seeing the Oriental small-clawed otter. SHFW70 (talk) 22:55, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Eurocentric article - incomplete range 

message: Who is this 'Silverstein' cited so often in the references, and what reference did he write? It is not very helpful to give just the name of an auther and never the name of the work.
64.105.137.254 (talk) 18:22, 9 August 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Look at the reference list below the numbered notes. Silverstein, Alvin; Silverstein, Virginia and Robert (1995). The Sea Otter. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, Inc. . OCLC 30436543 Civiello m (talk) 12:21, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unclear Reference Citations 

message: The wiki linked "otter" in the first sentence of this article should be removed. It conflicts with MOS, specifically WP:LINKSTYLE (quote: "Links should not be placed in the boldface reiteration of the title in the opening sentence of a lead") and WP:BOLDTITLE (last entry). Normally I would let this slip, but a featured article should follow MOS.62.107.210.217 (talk) 13:50, 21 November 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: The article isn't edit protected anymore. I've dealt with the matter. 62.107.217.225 (talk) 11:03, 3 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  MOS conflict in lead 

message: It should no longer be necessary to include feet, inches & pounds in a scientifically factual article simply for the only country that still understands these units.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.148.221.248 (talk) 22:16, 24 September 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Units of measurement 

message: I feel like sea otters aren't fish.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 167.57.151.28 (talk) 15:11, 9 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fish 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Reverting edits simply because the contributors are not using an account must stop. To quote from Wikipedia:IPs_are_human_too; "This practice is against the philosophy of Wikipedia and founding principles of all Wikimedia projects". 84.210.34.27 (talk) 09:58, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I assume you are referring to the addition of this source. Were the results submitted to a peer-reviewed journal? Samsara (talk) 11:09, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contributions from unregistered users automatically reverted 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Context: “the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range.[3] [...] have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species now occupies about two-thirds of its former range.”
The initial “a fraction of their historic range” needs to be clarified, as “two-thirds” is a fraction as well, although implied by context to be an improvement.  1/3 and 1/100 aren’t nearly the same fraction...
Archon Shiva (talk) 23:25, 25 November 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fraction of their range 

message: Is it okay for the main image to have a full body? Are there images of the highest quality that show a full body of the animal?Esagurton (talk) 11:14, 3 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Using a full body photo as the main image is OK but is not required. Wikipedia's Manual of Style says that the lead image should provide visual confirmation that the reader has arrived on the right page, and "Lead images should be natural and appropriate representations of the topic; they should not only illustrate the topic specifically, but also be the type of image used for similar purposes in high-quality reference works." There is more to representing the topic than literally illustrating the physical characteristics of the animal. The sea otter is a highly charismatic (technical term for "cute") and inquisitive species. A close-up of the face can capture these characteristics better than a full-body picture, especially on small screens. Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 05:24, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  I completely agree. I was curious, though, and I uploaded a crop of the image  tried to add and I think it looks better because of the quality. I did not change it yet, just looked in preview. It's :File:Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) (25169790524) crop.jpg – what do you think? The kelp in the current image is difficult to see, so I don't think it's a good representation of the behavior as described in #Social structure. Rhinopias (talk) 23:35, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  I think the cropped image looks really good! It's much sharper than the one we currently have and just as cute. Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 06:07, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  About Main Image 

message: A reader pointed out that the map showing the range of the sea otter is obviously flawed. :File:Sea Otter Enhydra lutris distribution map 2.png The image does have a source and it matches the source but the source is clearly incorrect.
Given the fact that this is a featured article, I'm hoping that someone will care enough to track down and create a better image or discuss whether inclusion of a flawed image is better than no image at all.--S Philbrick(Talk) 14:42, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: (Related to entry in next post)--S Philbrick(Talk) 20:50, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Flawed image 

message: Hello again fellow Wikipedians,
I have found further sources regarding the correct and current distribution of the sea otter in the Aleutians:
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
https://www.fws.gov/alaska/fisheries/mmm/seaotters/pdf/Recovery%20Plan%20SW%20AK%20DPS%20Sea%20Otter%20Aug13.pdf
From the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=seaotter.rangemap
From an academic website, Science Direct:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128014028000044
and am awaiting complete confirmation, including possible access to a current and excellent distribution map, and permission to publish an email just received from the University of California Santa Cruz, confirming that the otters are indeed extant across the entire archipelago.
Hope this helps,
JonathanOtter carer (talk) 17:40, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: That's awesome, Johnathan, thanks! Do you think you might be able to ask one of the organizations you've been in contact with to release a good range map under a Creative Commons license? That would make it possible for us to use the map in this article. Specifically, the license we need is https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or similar. The tricky part is that we are looking for a complete range map, not just Alaska or just the U.S. Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 21:49, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

text: Hello Clayoquot, many thanks, all quite a bit to take on board as a first timer, but will certainly be in touch with the originators of the most accurate current map over the weekend and ask their permission, I have a large version of it but don't feel at liberty to pass it on until I've received said permission, if that's okay? Sorry! Thankyou,
JonathanOtter carer (talk) 23:00, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  Totally fine. Thanks for looking into it! Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 05:11, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sea Otter distribution along the Aleutian Island chain 02 

message: Please remove the first sentence of section 5.3, Predators: 
"Sea otter predation is not common as many predators find the otter's pungent scent glands distasteful."
This is speculation and demonstrably false--sea otters are actually the only mustelids that don't have anal scent glands (mentioned in the Evolution section of this very article). Nebulancer (talk) 05:03, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
replies: text:  Done. Thanks for bringing this up. Cheers, Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 05:13, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 23 September 2018 

message: 2605:A601:4472:DA00:5CE:1E8:A3ED:D126 (talk) 17:42, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 8 March 2019 

message: Please add in where you think best, most likely in section 5.1, the interesting fact that sea otter skeletons can be stained purple due to their dietary reliance on purple sea urchins. This process is called Echinochrome staining. Citation here. Picture here. I recently learned this, and thought it was quite neat.
* . Interesting! Cheers, Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 20:32, 17 March 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: @Clayoquot I will try Acjpro (talk) 14:43, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request 14 March 2019 

message: This section is contradictory of itself. To the point of un-education. I'm new and don't know how to fully work with Wikipedia but I can tell that this section has some serious problems. It seams almost biased to wards a shell fisherman's point of view. I mean, really, how can 10,000 otters along thousands of miles of coastline have a significant impact on shellfish? How would a few otters eat all the abalone shells in millons of hectors of seafloor? I've done some research and I believe this source to be biased to a conservative fisherman's point of view. That's all. Marshall James schreffler (talk) 02:25, 12 March 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Economic impact. Part of sea otter page. 

message: The Kuril Islands belong to Russia and the Kuril population of sea otters is considered Russian. Can you please explain to me why we have to describe Kurillian sea otters as a "population in the north of Japan"? Should we, with this logic, call Canadian sea otters "population in the north of the United States" and American "in the north of Mexico"? I will say right away that I have no problem mentioning Japan and as far as I know the otter population is also in the Hokkaido area. I am extremely embarrassed by a very clumsy wording. Solaire the knight (talk) 03:35, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: It doesn't have to be included; the issue I had was that the implication of the phrasing was that there were two separate populations, one north of Japan and another one in the islands, when they're actually the same. (So far as I can tell, they're only around the islands, but those do approach one part of Hokkaido, so they'd necessarily be close to that one bit as well). I wouldn't bother describing Texas as being north of Mexico, as I think more readers are likely to know where Texas is than where the Kuril Islands are, but if you want to remove the reference to the islands' location altogether, I don't see that as an issue. Anaxial (talk) 09:08, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
replies: text:  My problem was that regardless of the intent, the phrase was very clumsily composed and that is why it made it feel as if its author was claiming that the Kuril Islands are the north of Japan. It was in connection with this that I sarcastically noted that with such logic one can name regions with a population of American sea otters as Mexican or Canadian. Solaire the knight (talk) 10:20, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Definition of the Kuril population as "the north of Japan". 

message: The word "forage" from the lead section links to Forage. Should it link to Foraging instead? --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 01:13, 9 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Forage 

message: Can I ask why my edit to add mention that there is another marine otter and it is an even smaller marine mammal has been reverted? that is useful, salient, and true information. 2601:642:C481:4640:A580:7153:5936:E118 (talk) 06:43, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Unnecessary detail in lead 〜 Adflatuss • talk 07:14, 21 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text:  Ok, now someone has removed the "among" to make it not only vague but actively wrong. now i'm peeved. 2601:642:C481:4640:EDB1:C59A:546A:ABF5 (talk) 08:44, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  ? 

message: Should the article not make mention of the oldest known living sea otter and YouTube/Twitch sensation, Rosa? If she is notable enough to have a wiki page, I feel like she is notable enough to at least be mentioned in this article. 68.229.156.13 (talk) 18:45, 25 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rosa