Of course, to continue this remarkable species, reproduction needs to be done. Females are ready to bare young between the ages of three to six, depending on how fast they mature. There are three main factors that affect the time of birth; weather, the amount of food available, and the location, but birth peak time is commonly during the spring and fall time. For the reproduction to occur, the male must find the right female sea otter. The male will court, meaning it will swim, facedown, with good posture. Once he meets a female, he will embrace her. If she is interested, she will roll around and play with him. It isn't common, but males can sometimes be rejected by the female, by being pushed or shoved away. During mating, the male wraps his forelegs around her chest to hang on to her. He will also grip his teeth on her nose, leaving her with a bloody cut when the mating is finished. This is why female otters can sometimes be nicknamed rudolph. The mating takes roughly 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how much the sea otters are sexually mature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby sea otters need alot of attention from their mother when born. This is because, when sea otters are born, they are blind, and are often helpless. This causes several activites such as; swimming, eating, and grooming difficult to do. Cubs are very close to their mother for their first year of life, which is why females only produce cubs every other year. The cub attempts to begin swimming around three months after birth. It is extremely rare, but possible for a sea otter to bear twins. If she does, she will sadly leave one to die, as it is too much for her to handle. The average life span for a sea otter in the wild is 10 to 15 years, while a sea otter living in an aquarium can live up to 20 years.