North+American+River+Otter

North American River Otter! = =

**I like to live in a river** **When I slide through the water I tend to not shiver** **I like to play in the sun** **I tend to slide instead of run** **Remember I don’t shiver and I plan to not quiver** = Classification! = = Natural History! =
 * Kingdom: Animalia
 * Phylum: Chordata
 * Class: Mammalia
 * Order: Carnivora
 * Family: Mustelidae
 * Genus: Lutra
 * Species: Canadensis
 * Some otters are great at opening shellfish and some take birds or small animals
 * Their habitats are mainly rivers, but also canals, marshes, small streams, ditches, ponds and lakes
 * Their skin is very loose, so that it can stretch to several feet more than an otter's real length
 * bears, eagles, wolves, coyotes, foxes and cougars are their known predators
 * River otters are ready to reproduce at about 3-6 years of age
 * The season for mating depends on where they live and how the climate is

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= Fun Facts! = = =
 * They spend half of their lives sleeping, so they could spend 10 years sleeping
 * In water, otters are limited to speeds of around six miles per hour, but they can dive to depths of 60 feet and stay submerged for more than four minutes
 * On land, river otters scoot along at about fifteen miles per hour in a combination of running and sliding. That could wear anyone out!
 * Although their vision is not especially good, river otters have well-developed senses of smell and hearing.