Zoobooks

The scientific name for otters is Enhydra lutris, which means "otter in the water." The name fits otters well because they spend almost all of their time in the water—they eat, sleep, mate, give birth, and feed their young at sea. Although there are 12 species of otters, divided into two subspecies. Sea otters are the largest members of the weasel family (which includes weasels, skunks, minks, sables, ermines, wolverines, and badgers), and they are also the smallest of all marine mammals.