So it is 8:30 pm Tuesday night and I am struggling to decide on an animal for Wild Fact #788. In order to solve this problem I simply opened up “The Safari Companion” by Richard D. Estes which I just borrowed from the library today. I told myself that I would randomly open the book and proceed to write about whichever animal I came across. Unfortunately, I turned to far to the back and landed on a page where you can put your field notes. Needless to say, I am not going to write about Field Notes even if they are incredibly important for research. On my second attempt, I landed on the Cape Clawless Otter so keep reading to learn about this interesting animal.
As you may have guessed from the name we are talking about an otter. At least I hope you were able to guess that from the name but if not, that is fine too. Unlike other otters the Cape Clawless Otter has almost no webbing on its feet which is really odd for an aquatic animal such as this one. As well, they have no claws (obviously) which makes their hands surprisingly similar to a monkey’s hands. This large otter, which just happens to be the second largest freshwater otter species, also has small ears that lay flat while underwater and a nose that they are able to close while swimming. I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael Phelps develops these adaptations to help him win even more Gold Medals.
The Cape Clawless Otter is also known as the African Clawless Otter since it can be found in a variety of habitats throughout Africa. This explains why it was in a Safari book. Some of the habitats this otter resides in includes rain forests, open plains and even semi-arid habitats. They are almost like the red fox of the water. In order to escape the high heat of the African sun they will hang out in the water or underground in their nice air-conditioned burrows. You know, there is nothing better than a nice cool burrow on a hot summer day.
Well that is all I have for today’s fact. If you have any animals that you would like to know more about then please don’t be shy. Feel free to comment or send me an e-mail. If you don’t then I will be forced to continue picking random animals out of my library. If I am forced to do this, my next fact will probably be about the “Cat in the Hat” or “1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
