Sea Otter Eating Crab
Moss Landing, CA: A California sea otter dives for and eats small crabs. It would disappear underwater for up to a minute at a time and come up with one or two crabs. The sea otter would bite off the legs of the crab and chew on the shell to get to the meat inside. The shell must have been hard because I was able to hear the crunching of the shell as the otter chewed.
If the otter came up with two crabs, it would float on its back and place one of the crabs on its stomach while dining on the other crab. Since the crabs were still alive (I was able to see the legs of the crabs flailing), the otter would flip the crabs upside down so they would not be able to crawl away. Once, a crab was able to right himself and started to crawl back into the water. But just before it reached the edge of the otter’s stomach towards freedom, the otter scooped the crab back upside down and kept it from escaping.
Sea otters eat lots of different types of crabs. They also eat mussels and, often, use tools like rocks to open mussels.
If the otter came up with two crabs, it would float on its back and place one of the crabs on its stomach while dining on the other crab. Since the crabs were still alive (I was able to see the legs of the crabs flailing), the otter would flip the crabs upside down so they would not be able to crawl away. Once, a crab was able to right himself and started to crawl back into the water. But just before it reached the edge of the otter’s stomach towards freedom, the otter scooped the crab back upside down and kept it from escaping.
Sea otters eat lots of different types of crabs. They also eat mussels and, often, use tools like rocks to open mussels.