Sea otters spend a lot of their time floating on their backs—they rest, groom and eat in this position, using their stomachs as a table to spread out the food they have gathered. Sea otters have one of the thickest fur coats in the animal kingdom.
Small sea otter populations inhabit kelp forests, bays and coastal waters near islands, reefs, and fjords in the North Pacific Ocean. In British Columbia, they are found along the windswept west coast of northern Vancouver Island and the central coast, near Bella Bella. Sea otters often rest in groups called “rafts”. Rafting sea otters sometimes hold paws to stay together.Taken at the Vancouver Aquarium.