Happy World Otter Day!

suchscience.net

I have always loved seeing sea otters. Usually, the only place you are able to see them in in an aquarium or at the zoo as they are incredibly rare in the wild. I was lucky enough to see one on the beach, just out of the surf, in Carmel, California once back in the 1990's. It was an extremely rare sighting as there were so few left along the coast line in those days, as they were endangered and very nearly extinct. Fortunately, their numbers have rebounded since. But I've never seen another on in the wild! I just thought that was the perfect story to kick off World Otter Day! I could have sworn we just celebrated this day, but it was a full year ago already... Time really does fly on by doesn't it? Amazing...

While there are other otters that live in rivers, sea otters have always been my favorite. They are an endangered species that live along the northern Pacific from Japan up to the arctic ice and down the west coat on north America. By the early 1900's they had been hunted to near extinction for their furs, just like many other species were back in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays, we make efforts to save these species, it would have been a huge loss to the world to lose these cute, furry animals!

Since I'm a silver lover as most of you know, I spotted this baby otter coin that was produced by Tuvalu some years back in 2017. I love animal coins and tend to collect them, but this one I do not have. I was not all that aware of the coins Tuvalu was producing back in those days or I probably would have picked one up!

Tuvalu only minted 5,000 of these silver beauties at the Perth Mint in Australia. So, of course they are all sold out at primary silver dealers, so if you want one it's off secondary markets like eBay. The best price I could find there was near $90, way over priced for a half ounce of silver. So, although it's cute, I won't be buying one of these. But if you are interested in owning one they are out there for sale, just not that many. Apparently, most collectors aren't selling their baby sea otter coins!

Sea Otters

environmentamerica.org

Here's one snacking on sea urchins:

theodysseyonline.com

These adorable creatures are the smallest marine mammals and unlike other sea mammals, they rely on their fur for insulation from the cold water. Others use large amounts of blubber to keep themselves warm, otters also have some blubber reserves, just not nearly as thick as other marine mammals. This results in a very soft and luxurious fur that was highly prized in high society in days past. It also nearly led to their extinction! They tend to live near to shore in rocky areas and kelp beds that offer them protection.

Sea otters are extremely intelligent and resourceful, often using rocks as tools to break open shells to get to the food inside. The float on their backs and place the shells on the underbelly in break them open. Talk about smart! They also eat sea urchins and other small fish.

It's hard to believe that in 1911 their numbers had dwindled to one to two thousand worldwide. Now thanks to conservation efforts their numbers are bouncing back. The bad news is whenever you reduce a population to such small numbers, the genetic diversity is badly degraded. This results in genetic diseases becoming common due to inbreeding. Hopefully, in the long term this won't lead to their demise...

Aren't they cute though? Happy World Otter Day everyone!

That will do it for this Wednesday, I do hope you enjoyed the post. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and as always thank you so much for all of your support. It is deeply appreciated. Have a great day everyone!

References:

https://www.apmex.com/product/155900/2017-tuvalu-1-2-oz-silver-polar-babies-sea-otter-proof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter

Disclaimer

I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!

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