Sea otter chews on urchins at Vancouver Aquarium
Sea otter chews on urchins at Vancouver Aquarium

An adorable sea otter has been filmed chowing down on a sea urchin.The otter, named Katmai, was filmed going to town on the urchin and stuffing her face at Vancouver Aquarium on Saturday, 26th September.Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters lack an insulating layer of blubber and rely on their fur and high metabolism to keep warm instead.To keep this up they have to eat over a quarter of their body weight every day.Vancouver Aquarium spokeswoman, Meighan Makarchuk, said: "The sea otter in the video is named Katmai, she is an eight-year-old rescued sea otter in our care."In the video Katmai is eating one of her favourite foods, sea urchin."Sea otters are a keystone species meaning their role in their environment has a greater effect than other species."As predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of the near-shore kelp ecosystems."Without sea otters, the sea urchins they prey on would devour the kelp forests off the coast that provide cover and food for many other marine animals."