Facts about Sea Otter Tool Use
- 07
Research led by biologist Jessica Fujii, published in 2017, found that among 196 California sea otters, frequent tool users had significantly fewer tooth fractures than non-tool users.
- 06
Individual sea otters show consistent preferences for particular anvil rocks, returning to the same locations repeatedly to forage.
- 05
Otters typically bang shellfish against a rock balanced on their chest, sometimes striking it more than 45 times to break it open.
- 04
When rocks are unavailable, sea otters have been observed using other hard objects, including shells or debris, as anvils to open prey.
- 03
Tool use in sea otters is largely a learned behavior, with pups acquiring the skill by observing and imitating their mothers.
- 02
A favorite tool stone used by a sea otter is often kept in a loose pouch of skin under the forelimb for repeated use.
- 01
Sea otters are one of the few non-primate mammals known to regularly use tools, employing rocks to crack open shellfish while floating on their backs.