7 Adorable Otter Diet Facts You Otter Know

Looking for some tasty otter diet facts? Here’s everything you need to know about what otters eat! Plug up your ears and nose to create a watertight seal (as otters do) and dive in!

1. Otters aren’t picky

They eat slow-moving fish and invertebrates like crabs, sea urchins, abalones, clams, mussels, and snails. Pretty much whatever they can catch. We’re pretty sure whoever came up with “happy as a clam” never saw an otter get their paws on one. Otters are also happy to eat frogs, birds, rabbits, and rodents.

2. Otters use tools

They are excellent at encouraging crustaceans and mollusks to “come out of their shells.” They do this by destroying them with their favorite rocks, which they keep in pockets of loose skin under their forearms. They also get those reps in; sea otters can hammer an abalone shell against a rock 45 times in 15 seconds. Try doing that at the gym. No way, bro.

3. Otters eat about 25% of their body weight every day

Yes, you should be very jealous of sea otters' metabolisms, which help them stay warm in that cold water. (River otters eat a less-impressive, but still-respectable 15-20% of their body weight.)

4. Otters catch with their whiskers

Those gorgeous whiskers aren’t just for show, although they do look quite stylish. River otters and giant otters hunt by using their whiskers to detect movements of prey in murky water.

5. Otters recline to eat

Sea otters often lie on their backs and hold their prey in their paws while eating it. It’s incredibly cute (unless you’re the critter being devoured). While most otter species prefer to eat in the water, giant otters will occasionally drag larger prey to shore.

6. Otters have magnificent pearly whites

Their strong jaws and blunt teeth are great for crunching oysters with!

7. Otters get lots of help from kelp

Sea otters love kelp forests, which are home to tasty treats like the sea urchins that otters retrieve from the ocean floor. The kelp also provides cover from predators. Sea otters in captivity also like to play in car-wash strips, which simulate the kelp they’d find in the wild.