Otter floated on her back, basking in the warm sunlight. The sea was blue, the sky was blue, and she could see the coast of Alaska off in the distance.
Everything was mostly quiet, but there was a strange whirring that Otter did not recognize. What did it matter? Otter paid no attention. All the other sea otters were asleep, floating in a group called a raft. She herself had only just awakened.
What was that noise??? It was louder now. Otter looked around. There! A boat! People will trap otters for their fur, which is the thickest of any animal (up to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch).
Otter gave the warning call. It sounded, oddly enough, like a bird chirping. Instantly all the other otters awoke and simultaneously dived under water. Otter waited till the last one dove into the briny deep; then she dove down herself.
The otters came up about one quarter of a mile away. The boat did not give chase. Evidently it was not after the otters.
Now that all the others were awake, it was time to eat. Otter dived to the sea floor and flipped over a rock, looking for food. Otters usually eat sea urchins, sea stars, crab, squid, clams, mussels, abalone, snails, and chitons.
There was nothing under the rock, so Otter moved on. She saw a group of sea urchins feeding on kelp. Otter grabbed two of them and put them into the pouch under her left foreleg. Otters have pouches under their forelegs, but seem to prefer storing things in the left one. Otter also had her favorite flat rock in the pouch. She used this rock to break the shells of sea creatures to get the soft meat inside.
Otter kept looking for things to eat. She saw nothing, so she began to dig in the muddy sea floor. She found some sea snails. These she also put in her pouch.
Otter swam to the surface and started to eat. Later she would groom her fur and probably take a nap. After that, she would eat more and play with her fellow otters. But now, now she would enjoy her meal.
