12 NAT GEO KIDS^ •^ AUGUST 2019
»
Sea
otters use
their stomachs
as plates when
they eat.»
BY JAMIE KIFFEL-ALCHEH
A sea otter mama feeding her pup a sea urchin might not seem like a big
deal. But these marine mammals’ meals are actually helping protect their
environment. Read on to find out some surprising ways sea otters are
saving the planet.A sea otter watches a crab scuttle
across a mud bank at the Elkhorn
Slough Reserve, an estuary in
Monterey Bay, California. (An estuary
is where the ocean meets a river.)
The otter drags its body across the
mud with its forepaws, then ... snatch!
It grabs the crab and chows down.1
PLANET
POLLUTION PREVENTERS
PROTECTORS
5 WAYS SEA OTTERS ARE SAVING THE EARTH
A SEA OTTER
MUNCHES ON A
DUNGENESS CRAB.