Food-production techniques of Pacific Ocean marine mammal
A sea otter using a rock to break open a shell
The sea otter, Enhydra lutris, is a member of the Mustelidae that is fully aquatic. Sea otters are the smallest of the marine mammals, but they are also the most dexterous. Sea otters are known for their ability to use stones as anvils or hammers to facilitate access to hard-to-reach prey items. Furthermore, out of the thirteen currently known species of otters, at least 10 demonstrate stone handling behaviour, suggesting that otters may have a genetic predisposition to manipulate stones.[1] Tool use behavior is more associated with geographic location than sub-species. Most behavioral research has been conducted on Enhydra lutris nereis, the Californian otter, and some has been conducted on Enhydra lutris kenyoni, the Alaska sea otter. Sea otters frequently use rocks as anvils to crack open prey, and they are also observed to rip open prey with their forepaws. While lying on their backs, otters will rip apart coral algae to find food among the debris.[2] The frequency of tool use varies greatly between geographic regions and individual otters. Regardless of the frequency, the use of tools is present in the behavioral repertoire of sea otters and is performed when most appropriate to the situation.[2]
^Bandini, Elisa; Bandini, Margherita; Tennie, Claudio (February 2021). "A Short Report on the Extent of Stone Handling Behavior Across Otter Species". Animal Behavior and Cognition. 8 (1): 15–22. doi:10.26451/abc.08.01.02.2021. ISSN 2372-5052.
^ abHall, K. R. L.; Schaller, George B. (1964). "Tool-Using Behavior of the California Sea Otter". Journal of Mammalogy. 45 (2): 287–298. doi:10.2307/1376994. ISSN 1545-1542. JSTOR 1376994.
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regions and individual otters. Regardless of the frequency, the use of tools is present in the behavioral repertoire of seaotters and is performed when...
The seaotter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult seaotters typically weigh...
Kruuk H (2007). Otters: ecology, behavior and conservation. Oxford Biology. pp. 99–116. ISBN 978-0-19-856587-1. "Tooluse in otters". OneKind. Archived...
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heavier-shelled prey, otters will sometimes exhibit tool-use behavior, breaking open sea urchins and mussels with a false stone used as an anvil. Seaotters can also...
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minks and river otters to the fully aquatic seaotter, which is one of the few nonprimate mammals known to usetools while foraging. It uses "anvil" stones...
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use varies widely depending on the species. For example, seaotters have been observed using a rock to break open snail shells, while primates and New...
a ship-based fur trade system, focused largely on acquiring furs of seaotters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest...
shown to be capable of usingtools. The definition of a tool has been debated. One proposed definition of tooluse was defined by T. B. Jones and A. C....
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pandas Family Mustelidae G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 – skunks, badgers, otters, and weasels Superfamily Feloidea G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 Family Viverridae...
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