An entirely aquatic marine otter of North Pacific coasts, formerly hunted for its dense fur. It is noted for its habit of floating on its back with a stone balanced on the abdomen, in order to crack open bivalve molluscs.
海獭
Enhydra lutris, family Mustelidae
Example sentencesExamples
We went whale watching and saw two grey whales spurting in unison, dolphins, more sea lions and a sea otter.
Hunting during the 18th and 19th centuries greatly reduced the distribution of the sea otter.
Attempts in 2003 to delist the southern sea otter as threatened were not successful.
In the north, the sea otter is thriving in areas off Alaska and British Columbia, and a translocated group off Washington State is growing.
A few other carnivores, such as the sea otter, are also specialized for life in the oceans.
The sea otter's range was restricted to the North Pacific basin, at least from the Pleistocene onward.
Definition of sea otter in US English:
sea otter
nounsē ˈädər
An entirely aquatic marine otter of North Pacific coasts, formerly hunted for its dense fur. It is noted for its habit of floating on its back with a stone balanced on the abdomen, in order to crack open bivalve mollusks.
海獭
Enhydra lutris, family Mustelidae
Example sentencesExamples
We went whale watching and saw two grey whales spurting in unison, dolphins, more sea lions and a sea otter.
The sea otter's range was restricted to the North Pacific basin, at least from the Pleistocene onward.
A few other carnivores, such as the sea otter, are also specialized for life in the oceans.
Hunting during the 18th and 19th centuries greatly reduced the distribution of the sea otter.
In the north, the sea otter is thriving in areas off Alaska and British Columbia, and a translocated group off Washington State is growing.
Attempts in 2003 to delist the southern sea otter as threatened were not successful.