Tooth be told: Sea otters have a powerful bite

There’s a creature lurking in the sea.

It’s slick, fast, and if you get too close, it might chomp your face off.

No, not sharks or giant squid — sea otters.

“Sea otters,” you might say. “Don’t they hold hands?”

They do indeed. But don’t let the cute reputation fool you.

Sea otters are incredible marine wrestlers, packing some serious strength under all that fluff.

These protected and endangered mammals were nearly hunted to extinction. Russian, British, and American fur traders sought the luxurious fur of sea otters, their numbers plummeting from around 300,000 to 2,000 by the turn of the 1900s. Plenty of conservation efforts have helped recover some populations of sea otters; however, many are still endangered today.

Even so, these charming creatures have three incredible tricks up their sleeves that help them not only survive in their ocean home but also help others in their ecosystem.

Power Move #1: A mighty bite

Sea otters have a sweet smile, but you might want to see it from a distance. One of their biggest power moves is a fierce bite.

Sea otters have powerful teeth and even more powerful bites – an estimated 615 pounds of force. That’s about as much as a black bear.

This strong smile helps them bust through the hard shells of their typical dinner spread: clams, abalone, snails, mussels, crabs, and sea urchins.

Their super strong bite allows sea otters to eat slower prey and stay fueled. Plus, they eat animals, like sea urchins, that eat up kelp forests. The sea otter’s diet helps kelp thrive for the benefit of all kinds of species of fish, invertebrates, and sea life that live in and around kelp.

Sea otters are built for this kind of meal.

“They have adapted to eat those hard items without fracturing their teeth,” said Chris Law, a Marine biologist at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, which houses a collection of 20 to 40 otter specimens.

Law said these otter skeletons explain how and why the jaw of a sea otter is so powerful: fracture resistant enamel.

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This fracture resistant enamel is what allows them to eat these tougher to bite foods. Sea otter enamel is twice as tough as human enamel. This isn’t your average seafood boil with shuckers, crab crackers, or picks. These marine mammals mostly show up to the freezing cold seafood part with big flat molars and two sharp canine teeth.

“Just imagine you trying to take a snail or a clam and using your teeth to bite that down. Your teeth are probably gonna fracture pretty quickly, whereas sea otter's teeth are more resistant to be able to do that,” Law explained.

And not every sea otter eats the same thing. So, not every set of sea otter chompers look the same.

Sea otters that specialize in eating snails have teeth that look different compared to otters that specialize in eating clams.

And Law can see these differences because he’s got the specimens to prove it.

But the specimens at the Burke also show him something else. Over time, these gnashers wear down, leaving sea otters with a big dilemma: How are they going to eat? Luckily, sea otters have found another way to break open their prey.

Want to know more?

Check out the full episode of Spectacular Specimens where we reveal all three sea otter superpowers and find out where these furry fighters keep their snacks.

Listen now: Spectacular Specimens: The Fierce Behind the Fluff

Calling All Young Scientists!

We all have special strengths that help others around us. What’s your superpower?

Our listeners have sent us some pretty spectacular drawings of sea otter dinner parties and sea otter super powers! We’d love to see yours too. Draw a picture showing your own spectacular strength and send it to spectacular@kuow.org.