Sea otters that regularly eat the purple sea urchin are easily detected — their bones and teeth turn sea-urchin purple! Some otters eat so many urchins that their teeth, skulls and skeletons are stained purple! They are known to eat clams, mussels, crabs, octopus, sea urchins, snails, and fat innkeeper worms. Quickly spinning the sea urchin in her paws, she breaks off the prickly spines. Enter the sea otter. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). Tom Ryan is a freelance writer, editor and English tutor. Using her teeth, she chomps open the body and licks out the insides. Kelp forests are desirable as productive nurseries for a wide range of sea life. Despite living in the cold Pacific Ocean, the sea otter doesn't have insulating blubber like other ocean mammals such as the whale. What Is the Difference Between a Sea Nettle & a Jelly Fish? Sea otters are another predator of urchins in the kelp forests. Rounds keep repeating until one team wins (the other team is completely captured). A treaty was signed on July 7, 1911, that was designed to manage the commercial harvest of fur-bearing mammals (such as seals and sea otters) in the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea. When you see a sea urchin, you probably don't think that these spiny, scary-looking creatures are edible. Otters get urchin shells open primarily be hitting them, either with a rock or against a rock. Purple sea urchins are devouring the kelp forest off California's coast. Sea urchin fishing began in Japan soon after World War II before spreading to the entire Pacific Rim by the 1970s and within two more decades the practice would spread to the Atlantic region. Sea otters are obligate carnivores which means they only eat meat items. If you come across a sea otter you think is sick, injured or abandoned, please give it space and call The Marine Mammal Center’s stranding hotline at (415) 289-7325. Also hedgehogs are often found in coastal waters. Want to watch cute sea otters romp, wrestle and play every day of the year? In places where sea otters have disappeared, sea urchins will eat the kelp forest until it’s gone. Be Her Village. All these animals carry particular adaptations (teeth, pincers, claws) and a strength that allow them to overcome the excellent protective features of sea … Sea otters play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the shoreline population and ecosystem. Otters beat urchins, as otters eat urchins. Fortunately, sea otters have an appetite for sea urchins and they help to keep sea urchins in check, allowing the kelp to flourish and capture CO 2. That's like a 200-pound man eating 50 pounds of hamburger a day. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. Typically, a sea otter's diet consists of sea urchins, snails crabs, fish, and molluscs such as clams, mussels and whelks. Food preferences vary among individuals. They scrape clean rocks and coral covered in algae using their teeth, and their long tongue to eat the matter. by seaottersdotcom | Oct 4, 2012 | sea otters. The urchins would consume too much kelp, reducing the availability of fish in the water. Different types of otter, including sea otters and river otters, eat a wide variety of sea creatures, including urchins. But they eat enough to drop numbers significantly. And eat they do—with gusto. The main part of the coral reefs is located in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Sea urchins are one of the favourite foods of many lobsters, crabs, triggerfish, California sheephead, sea otter and wolf eels (which specialise in sea urchins). Did you know? Stranded sea otter with echinochrome stained teeth. Empower Her. 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