15 interesting facts about otters

1. The only continents where otters do not live are Australia and Antarctica.
2. Otters are semi-aquatic (or in one case aquatic) fish-eating mammals.
3. An otter’s den is called a holt or couch. A male otter is a dog (otter), a female a bitch (otter), and a baby a whelp or pup.
4. Norse mythology tells of the dwarf Ótr habitually taking the form of an otter. The myth of Otter's Ransom is the starting point of the Volsunga saga.
5. They mainly eat aquatic animals, predominantly fish and shellfish, but also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals.
6. They can stay underwater for up to four minutes, after witch they must surface to breathe.
7. In some Native American cultures, otters are considered totem animals.
   
8. The otter is held to be a clean animal belonging to Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrian belief, and taboo to kill.
9. There are 13 species of otters in the world.
10. The otter can swim faster than any other four-legged animal and can close its ears and nostrils to keep out the water
11. Otters make several different sounds to communicate. A baby sea otter will cry when it is left alone.
12. For countless generations, fishermen in southern Bangladesh have bred otters and used them to chase fish into their nets.
13. They can consume up to 25% of their body weight daily.
14. The largest of the 13 species of otter is the giant otter, reaching a length of up to 1.8 m and known as the river wolf in Peru.
15. The smallest is the Asian small-clawed otter, less than a meter long.