Cute Otters

Look at this little guy!  You can't tell me that you don't want to mash his cute furry face up against yours.  I just love his big nose that matches the color on his paws.  He's just too darn adorable as he looks like he's waving or possibly doing a version of the otter robot dance.

I found this cute picture on Ottershome.net, oddly enough a web site that really doesn't have anything to do with otters...

Imagine cute little otters like this floating off the shore of California beaches again! The organization, Defenders Of Wildlife, are trying their best to bring the sea otter back to Southern California.

From Defenders of Wildlife: Sea otters are what scientists refer to as "keystone species," a term that refers to their functional role within their ecosystem. The feeding habits of the sea otter have a top-down effect on the marine ecosystem, meaning that their actions affect organisms lower in the food chain. Sea otters are also indicators of the health of that ecosystem. The sea otter derives much of its nutritional needs from shellfish which, unfortunately, put the otter at odds with the commercial shellfish industry. However sea otters play an important role in maintaining the health of the kelp ecosystem. By limiting the numbers of shellfish that feed on kelp, the sea otter promotes the development of kelp forests which are larger, more productive, and more diverse biologically and structurally. Kelp beds, in turn, provide habitat for fish and other invertebrate species.

This is a cool video from The Monterey Bay Aquarium about rescued otters being nursed by surrogate mom otters.

This little guy comes from the Southeast Alaska Wildlife Cruises web site.  I'll have to contact them to see how many otters they come across.  I'd love to take an "otter cruise".

From Southeast Alaska Wildlife Cruises: From mid-June through August, the Snow Goose will be on adventures in Southeast Alaska. In addition to our scheduled trips to Frederick Sound, Admiralty Island National Monument, Baranof Warm Spring, the Inside Passage and more, we also offer personalized trips.   Southeast Alaska Wildlife Cruise Schedule.  Our itinerary is one of exploration, so we stop and spend time to walk in the rain forest or to watch whales, bears or a glacier calving.

These two cuties come from the Battersea Park Zoo in London.

These three cute little sea otter pups come from Sea World’s web site. If you’re interested, you can get this pic as wallpaper for your computer! (link)

This adorable little sea otter pup was rescued from the Scottish
Borders. He was nursed to health by the good people at the SSCPA
wildlife hospital at Middlebank. (link)