Life in the cold can be difficult for animals. As the body chills, organs including the brain and muscles slow down. The body temperature of animals such as reptiles and amphibians mostly depends on ...

Sea otters are some of the most adorable animals on Earth. The Oregon Zoo’s otters have become worldwide celebrities with their playful antics. And, a pair of otters watching popcorn gave the masses a ...

Sea otters are arguably the Michael Phelps of the marine mammal world. They are excellent swimmers, complete with muscular bodies and webbed feet that allow for them to cut through the water with ease ...

Did you know sea otters can eat a quarter of their body weight in food every day? That’s hundreds of sea urchins, clams, and crabs — all cracked open with a rock balanced on their bellies. It’s one of ...

Sea otters are the smallest marine mammal. As cold-water dwellers, staying warm is a top priority, but their dense fur only goes so far. We have long known that high metabolism generates the heat they ...

By Christine Heinrichs The sea otter pup was tiny, probably less than 2 weeks old, alone in Morro Bay on an October morning ...

This story appears in the February 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine. I am hunting otters with Charlie, the two of us in wet suits, our bodies submerged, level with the sea. The tankers are ...

Randall Davis has received research funding from the National Science Foundation and NOAA. Melinda Sheffield-Moore and Traver Wright do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any ...