Kalan belongs to mammals, the Kunah family. This is a predatory animal whose name came from Koryak.
Steller first described this animal in 1741, when he participated in the expedition in Kamchatka. This campaign was led by Berenga. The ship on which the crew arrived on the peninsula crashed and therefore Georg stayed with the rest in place for a long time. The works of this scientist were published in 1751. Almost 1000 skins of this animal were brought to Russia and as a result, a real hunt began on Kalan. At the beginning of the last century, the sea otter began to be protected, it was listed in the Red Book, which gave its fruits and the number of animals increased.
Description
Sea otor has medium sizes, animal body weight is about 40-50 kilograms. Sexual dimorphism is expressed in size and mass: males are larger than females. Female individuals weigh about 30 kg, the length of their body is about 100-150 cm. The body length of males can reach 155 cm, they weigh 10 kg more than females. Kalan’s tail is about 30 centimeters. The head of the sea otter is round, the muzzle is slightly flattened. It has vibrissas, darkcolored nose and small ears.
The front paws are quite short, they have fused fingers. At the bottom of the limbs there are special pads that help to touch objects and hunt. The hind limbs play the role of fins. Animal fur is thick, they have outer, fur hairs. Thanks to the hairline, Kalans can be in the water for a long time, and it will not be cold to them not immediately. The wool of sea otter changes all year, but in the spring and summer period the falling process intensively. The color of the hairline can vary from red to brown. There are albinos with melanists whose fur is black.
Where the kalans live?
In the 18-19 centuries, sea otter lived at the Pacific Ocean, but by the beginning of the 20th century, the Aleutian islands were their habitat. The population was small, scientists totaled several thousand individuals. Because of this, the hunt for them was banned and animals were settled on the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. The attempt was not very successful.
At the moment, they are inhabiting Alaska and California, the Far East. And also they can be found on Hokkaido. A huge population inhabit the shores of Washington. There are 70 thousand sea otters in total. In Eurasia, about 15 thousand lives on the island of the Copper in the Kamchatka Sea. So, there are only 3 subspecies of this animal: Asian Kalan, who lives in Kamchatka, near the Kuril Islands and in the Far East, California and Northern Kalan, living in the Aleutian Islands.
Life of the sea of sea kalan
Sea otter is active in the daytime. They spend a lot of time in water and sometimes go out to dry. On copper animals even spend the night on the shore when California Kalans spend all the time in the ocean. During the storm, they do not sail away from land, and in a calm time they seek food 20 kilometers from land.
Kalans take care of wool, often clean it and comb them, because mucus and food stuck in the hair. It also helps for a long time not to hypothermia. In general, the routine of the day is such that at dawn animals wake up and immediately begin to search for food and procedure for hair care. All this lasts until noon. After eating, Kalan falls asleep for half an hour. Then the time of love games comes, and they end only by 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and after such activities they quickly fall asleep for about an hour. After sleep, they need to eat and take a little look after the wool. Then they go to bed again, this time until the morning.
Kalans are friendly, they are not wary of both other species and people. But even vice versa they allow them close.
Food
Every day, sea ejectors should eat a lot of food due to habitat. Usually they eat mollusks, crabs and even sea stars, as well as octopus, moreover, the heads of these animals Kalans prefer to leave. Search for prey passes at a depth. Everything that the “hunter” got, he puts it in his skin, in a special pocket under his paws. The animal begins to meal only when it emerges. Usually they drink sea water or swallow it with food.
Kalan caught a crab
Natural enemies
The enemies of the Kalans are representatives of the dolphin, such as a toothy whale. Killed also is a danger to sea otter. This list also replenishes the polar shark, although it usually lives at great depths. The most serious enemy is sivuchi, in the stomachs of these predators they constantly find the remains of marine oscillations.
Killed an enemy of sea otters
Reproduction
Males become sexually mature at about 6 years old, and females can produce offspring at 3 years old. The male individual swims a lot with the female you like, then grabs her nose and holds it in the process of mating. After 8 months, the mother gives life to offspring, usually one kalan, since at the birth of twins the second child almost always dies. At first, the cub can nothing without a parent, but then his mother teaches him “hunting” for the inhabitants of the sea and accustoms him to such food.
Kalan with a cub
The dear photos 🙂
Interesting Facts
- The kidneys of animals are very large and can easily process salty sea water. They make up about 3% of the mass of the animal.
- Sea owns have no sweat glands, because they cannot mark the territory.
- Animal bones often have purple, as Kalans love to use sea urchins.
Communication between Kalans occurs using a squeak. In moments of danger, they can hiss or grumble.
