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Sea Otter – Animal profile, pictures, facts, range map

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/sea-otter

Sea otters are part of the weasel family. They have webbed feet, water-repellent fur to keep them dry and warm, and nostrils and ears that close in the water. Sea otters often float at the water’s surface in forests of kelp, or giant seaweed, and entangle themselves to keep from moving in the rolling sea. While floating on their backs, sea otters not only nap, but also use rocks to help them open mussels or other shellfish. Otters place a rock on their chests and smash the shellfish against it until it breaks open to reveal the tasty meat inside. They also snack on such aquatic creatures as sea urchins, crabs, squid, octopuses, and fish. Sea otters are the only otters to give birth in the water. Mothers cuddle their young while floating on their backs and hold infants on their chests to nurse them. They quickly teach them to swim and hunt for themselves. Sea otters wash themselves after a meal, cleaning their coat with their teeth and paws. They need to keep their fur coat clean so it stays waterproof. Sea otters have thick underfur that traps air to form an insulating layer against chilly waters (they have no insulating fat). Sea otters were hunted for their fur to the point of near extinction. Early in the 20th century only 1,000 to 2,000 animals remained. They can be found along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia.
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Stingray

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/stingray

Stingrays, with their wide, flat bodies, may not look like fish, but they are. They are related to sharks, and like their shark cousins, they do not have bones. Instead, their bodies are supported by cartilage—the same material that you feel inside the tip of your nose. Stingrays have broad fins that run the full length of their bodies, giving them a flat, roundish shape. To swim, some stingrays move their whole bodies in a wavy motion that propels them through the water. Other species flap their fins like bird wings and „fly“ through the water. Stingrays have tails that are armed for defense. Some kinds of stingrays have a spine in their tail with a very sharp point and edges that are serrated or notched. Many species, including the exotic-looking blue-spotted stingray, have venom that is delivered through their tails. That venom, and the spine itself, can be dangerous to humans. Stingrays prefer shallow, near-shore waters in warm parts of the world. Here, they spend most of their time lying partially buried on the ocean floor hiding from predators, like sharks, or waiting for prey to swim by. Their colors usually match the mud or sand they hide in. While a stingray’s mouth is on the underside of its body, along with its nostrils and gill slits, its eyes are on the top. Scientists don’t think they use their eyes for hunting very much though. Instead, they use special sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini, which can detect the tiny electrical charges emitted by their prey. Prey for stingrays includes clams, oysters, shrimps, crabs, and mussels. When they find dinner, stingrays crush their meal using strong jaws. Generally, female stingrays give birth once a year. They usually have two to six young at a time. While a baby stingray is still inside its mother, it grows to be quite large and developed so that when it’s born, it looks like a little adult. From birth, the young stingray is able to fend for itself.
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