Mithril Otter
Description
It’s difficult to classify this creature. It has so many features in common with so many different animals and magical creatures it falls in its own category. Officially known as the Mithral Lutrinae but has many other common names this creature has a large head very similar to a sea otter. It has six legs and basic body shape of an aurumvorax. Its fur has a metallic silver sheen giving it its mithral moniker. Unlike most other marine mammals, the giant snow otter has no blubber and relies on its exceptionally thick fur to keep warm. With up to 150,000 strands of hair per square centimeter (nearly one million per sq in), its fur is the densest of any animal. The fur consists of long, waterproof guard hairs and short underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry. Cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited. The fur is thick year-round, as it is shed and replaced gradually rather than in a distinct molting season. As the ability of the guard hairs to repel water depends on utmost cleanliness, the winter wolverine has the ability to reach and groom the fur on any part of its body, taking advantage of its loose skin and an unusually supple skeleton. The coloration of the pelage is always metallic silver white with silver-gray speckles. The paws of this creature are very feline like with retractable claws that are metallic silver white as well. The giant snow otter displays numerous adaptations to its marine environment. The nostrils and small ears can close. The hind feet, which provide most of its propulsion in swimming, are long, broadly flattened, and fully webbed. The paws have thick fur tufts to assist in walking on snow. All those characteristics allow it to travel on the snow without sinking, in addition to being an excellent swimmer similar to seals. The tail is fairly short, thick, slightly flattened, and muscular. Along the back between the front shoulders are quills similar to a porcupine. The quills are hollow and can be thrown for short distances. The quills also assist in the swimming and floating abilities. Despite its sized this animal is exceptionally light weight. This creature is a marsupial that lays eggs.
Height 12 – 18 inches tall
Length 24 – 30 inches long nose to tail
Weight 85 – 125lbs.
Behavior
The snow otter is diurnal. It has a period of foraging and eating in the morning, starting about an hour before sunrise, then rests or sleeps in mid-day. Foraging resumes for a few hours in the afternoon and subsides before sunset, and a third foraging period may occur around midnight. Females with pups appear to be more inclined to feed at night. Observations of the amount of time a sea otter must spend each day foraging range from 24 to 60%, apparently depending on the availability of food in the area as well as weather they hunt on land or at sea.
Snow otters spend much of their time grooming, which consists of cleaning the fur, untangling knots, removing loose fur, rubbing the fur to squeeze out water and introduce air, and blowing air into the fur. To casual observers, it appears as if the animals are scratching, but they are not known to have lice or other parasites in the fur. When eating, sea otters roll in the water or snow frequently, apparently to wash food scraps from their fur.
Winter wolverines are omnivores. Their diet is made up primarily of aquatic species such as sea urchins, oysters and other shellfish, vertebrates such as reptiles and birds. They may also eat eggs and vegetation. They may cache excess food, burying it for later consumption, usually under leaves, snow, or soil. While hunting, snow otters tend to use a particular pouncing technique, such that they crouch down to camouflage themselves in the terrain and then use their hind legs to leap up with great force and land on top of their chosen prey. Using their pronounced canine teeth, they can then grip the prey's neck and shake it until it is dead or can be readily disemboweled.
The snow otter hunts in water in short dives, often to the sea floor. Although it can hold its breath for up to fifteen minutes, its dives typically last about one minute and not more than four. It is the only marine animal capable of lifting and turning over rocks, which it often does with its front paws when searching for prey. The snow otter may also pluck snails and other organisms from kelp and dig deep into underwater mud for clams. It is the only marine mammal that catches fish with its forepaws rather than with its teeth.
Under each foreleg, the sea otter has a loose pouch of skin that extends across the chest. In this pouch (preferentially the left one), the animal stores collected food to bring to the surface. This pouch also holds a rock, unique to the snow otter, that is used to break open shellfish and clams. There, the sea otter eats while floating on its back, using its forepaws to tear food apart and bring to its mouth. It can chew and swallow small mussels with their shells, whereas large mussel shells may be twisted apart. It uses its lower incisor teeth to access the meat in shellfish. To eat large sea urchins, which are mostly covered with spines, the snow otter bites through the underside where the spines are shortest, and licks the soft contents out of the urchin's shell.
The snow otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. To open hard shells, it may pound its prey with both paws against a rock on its chest. To pry an abalone off its rock, it hammers the abalone shell using a large stone, with observed rates of 45 blows in 15 seconds. Releasing an abalone, which can cling to rock with a force equal to 4,000 times its own body weight, requires multiple dives.
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