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Sea otters often rest together in groups called rafts, floating on their backs and anchoring themselves with strands of kelp, a large seaweed, so the current doesn't carry them apart.

Marine biology (sea otters)

Science

The story behind the card

A raft usually holds 10 to 100 otters, and males and females tend to rest in separate groups; the largest raft ever seen held more than 2,000. Pictures of otters holding paws while they sleep show a real behaviour, but it has been documented mostly in aquariums and rescue centres; in the wild, wrapping themselves in kelp is the anchor seen far more often. Mothers also wrap resting pups in kelp to stop them drifting away while they dive for food. Sea otters live along the coasts of the North Pacific and were hunted almost to extinction for their fur until 1911, when an international treaty protected them.

Türkçe oku
Deniz samurları çoğu zaman “sal” denen gruplar hâlinde, sırtüstü yüzerek dinlenir. Akıntı onları birbirinden uzaklaştırmasın diye kendilerini kelp denen iri deniz yosunlarının şeritlerine sararlar.

Bir sal genellikle 10 ile 100 arasında samurdan oluşur; erkekler ve dişiler çoğunlukla ayrı gruplarda dinlenir. Görülen en büyük sal 2.000'i aşkın samuru bir araya getiriyordu. Uyurken el ele tutuşan samurların fotoğrafları gerçek bir davranışı gösterir, ama bu davranış daha çok akvaryumlarda ve kurtarma merkezlerinde gözlenmiştir; doğada çok daha sık görülen, yosuna sarınmaktır. Anneler de yiyecek aramak için dalarken yavruları sürüklenmesin diye onları yosuna sarar. Kuzey Pasifik kıyılarında yaşayan deniz samurları, kürkleri için neredeyse tükenene kadar avlandı; 1911'de imzalanan uluslararası bir antlaşma onları koruma altına aldı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Sea otter
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