The otter fur has long been recognized as the standard of strength. Clothing made from it significantly surpasses other popular furs in terms of socks: very slightly - bearish, two times - wolf, four times - ermine and squirrel, five times - polar fox, six times - chinchilla. Well, compared with rabbit fur, this figure increases by 20 times.
Scientists are confident that breeding these animals on an industrial scale is only a matter of time. At the All-Russian Research Institute of Animal Breeding and Hunting, very successful experiments are conducted on breeding these animals, which confirm that the otter is perfectly taking root in aviaries. Kids born in captivity are absolutely not afraid of people, they willingly allow themselves to stroke and scratch their ears.
An otter is a very graceful animal with a flexible streamlined body. Legs are short, with pronounced membranes between the toes. The tail is wide at the base, long, strong. The closest relatives of these predators are sea otters. Although otters are widespread in the world, their number is so rapidly declining that these animals are listed in the Red Book.
External features
The body length of an adult animal ranges from 55 to 95 centimeters (including the tail - from 25 to 45 cm). Females are slightly smaller than males. The weight of the otter is 6–10 kg. These animals perfectly mastered the semi-aquatic lifestyle. Their thick fur does not get wet due to dense downy hair.
The abdomen of the animal is painted in a light silver color, and the head, back and outer part of the legs are dark brown. The otter (with the exception of the clawless one) is practically devoid of a fat layer, and therefore fur is their only salvation from hypothermia. Ears and eyes have special valves that protect them from water. The animal submerges under water for 3-4 minutes and overcomes 300 meters during this time.
Otters are very clean animals - they equip themselves with a toilet at a decent distance from a hole and water (on the shore). This is often used by hunters, setting traps near the toilet of animals. Interestingly, otters communicate with each other using sound signals, among which researchers distinguished 12 different sounds.
These predators have good hearing, excellent sense of smell and vision, both on land and under water. Normal body temperature is 37 degrees. Interestingly, the pulse of an otter can vary depending on where the animal is. Under water, it slows down to 60 beats per minute, which allows the animal to save oxygen, and on land it can reach 300 beats. In natural conditions, the otter lives 10 years, in captivity - up to 15.
Habitat
In nature, the otter is quite widespread - this is all of Eurasia (with the exception of the Arabian Peninsula, the polar regions and North Africa). This predator from the Kunyi family prefers to settle on the shores of lakes, forest rivers, picking up the terrain rich in crayfish, fish, and also small rodents.
In winter, otters live near the wormwood or frost-free rapid. The animals equip their dwellings on the coastal plants overgrown with coastal plants, washed up with water or cluttered with old driftwood. The entrance to the hole is usually hidden under water. The animal will never come ashore next to it - it will certainly sail away from it at least a few meters.
The passage leads to a residential chamber, which is not flooded by spring waters. Its bottom is lined with dry foliage and grass. From this main room to the surface there are ventilation passages, rather narrow, so that the enemy could not use them. Otters often build an emergency exit leading to a dry shore. If the terrain is distinguished by a good forage base, an otter is sufficient for a stretch of coast no more than six kilometers long and about a hundred meters wide. When there is not enough food or the river completely freezes, the otter goes in search of a better place, breaking 20 km a day.
The basis of the diet of the otter is fish, and quite small. So the animal meets the body's needs for minerals and vitamins due to the green mass, which is located in the intestines of the fish and usually makes up about 13% of its mass. When a home otter receives large or gutted fish in the form of food, it can feel bad, become lethargic and inactive.
Lifestyle
An otter is a predator that hunts fish in ambush. She sits, hiding on a stone or a snag, and suddenly pounces on a passing fish. In autumn, when the young growth is growing, the otters arrange a real driven hunt, directing the fish to the shallow water and exterminating it collectively there. Even males, which in the daytime are usually away from the family, take part in these events.
The common otter usually leads a rather secretive lifestyle. She goes hunting at dusk. Only in places where no one bothers her can she be active during the day.
How to contain an otter at home?
Today, many animal lovers do not want to be content with keeping dogs, cats, fish, or hamsters. Many are experimenting (and sometimes quite unsuccessfully) with fairly rare animals. In order for both the animal and the owner to be satisfied as a result of such experiments, it is necessary first to learn more about the future pet, consult with veterinarians, and find out whether it is possible to keep this or that animal in captivity.
Otter in the apartment
For example, an otter as a pet is not at all adapted to life in an apartment. She has a liquid, plentiful and pungent litter. True, the owners claim that the home otter is easily used to meeting its needs in a box filled with sand, but this does not at all solve the problem of a sharp and very persistent smell.
Otters in the apartment: building a house for a pet
The best option for those who want to contain an otter is a country house with a spacious aviary in the yard. In addition, do not forget that the otter is a semi-aquatic animal that needs a swimming pool, and the latter is much easier to arrange in an aviary.
It is believed that the optimal size of an aviary for an otter is 8 x 16 meters. The walls and floor are made of metal mesh, which is usually used in fur farming. At the junction of the walls, the grid is reinforced with corners of metal. About 15 cm of the lower mesh are covered with gravel and a layer of river sand.
Pool and hole
The content of the otter at home is impossible without a pool a meter deep, two meters long and a meter wide. Naturally, we give the minimum dimensions. The ratio of land to water is 2: 1. Near the pool you need to put a box filled with well absorbent material (dry sand, sawdust of deciduous trees, peat). In such a box, home otters dry their fur. The size of the container should be larger than the size of the lying animal.
In addition to the pool, the otter at home needs an artificial hole. Experts believe that the best design should consist of two cameras. As a rule, it consists of a passage, a hallway chamber and a narrow, sponge-studded passage to a residential chamber. The sponge along with the minimum stroke sizes allow the animal to squeeze out excess moisture from the fur. The living chamber should be at least 50 x 40 x 30 cm, which allows a female with puppies to comfortably sit in it. The size of the entrance hall may be a bit more modest, approximately 30 cm long.
The roof of the socket must be elevated to make cleaning easier. At the same time, it should be weighty enough so that the domestic otter could not move it. These are pretty clean animals, so cleaning the nest boils down to replacing the raw hay that lays the floor of the nest for dry. To preserve the warmth of the house, the walls are usually double built and sawdust is poured between them.
Feeding
Today, for such an unusual pet it is not difficult to choose the right food. A home otter is happy to eat a prepared diet for minks of a pasty consistency. You can pick up food, consisting of 50–80% of small fish and supplemented with butter, milk, poultry, mice, eggs.
In addition, otters must be given daily multivitamins and calcium with phosphorus (calcium gluconate, chalk). The daily feed rate for an adult animal is 0.8–1 kg.