Otter's don't just make spraints, they also make "anal jelly." Otters tolerate one another, forming group hierarchies based on the most desirable living areas. That is otter spraint. It was quite small (about 7cm x 1 cm) and seems twisted at the end. A specialized lens and cornea correct for the refraction of light caused by the transition from aerial to aquatic vision. Otters have the densest fur of any animal—as many as a million hairs per square inch in places. Also contains what appear to be mammal bone fragments and none of the fish scales and bones that I normally see in otter spraint. The smell of an otter’s spraint has been likened variously to that of freshly mown hay to putrefied fish. They can vary in size a great deal and do not always contain fish bones. I did try giving it a sniff, but couldn't really smell anything, but then I've got a bit of a cold at the moment, so that doesn't mean much. Otters emit an odor, and smear their spraint (a fancy word for otter dung) at latrine sites, using their hind feet and tails, in order to mark their territory. Why collect it? Otters also have particularly stinky poop, which even has its own name: spraints. Female otters love to adopt pups. The spraints are often made of food waste; however, otters have anal glands that secrete the ‘otter-like’ smell. Spraint areas are used as bathrooms. The smell will stay with the sparint for some time. Each otter’s spraint has a slightly different smell, which enables them to communicate easily. Eyesight. Every otter can eat 15% of their weight on a daily basis because they have an extra-fast metabolism. North American river otters tend to have spraint sites at vantage points, such as under bridges, on prominent rocks at … Some scientists believe that an otter's sense of hearing is more important than smell for sensing danger. I have a collection of spraints and they are all different you really have to go by smell in some cases. Eyesight is probably the most important sense for hunting. Spraint composition is unique to each otter, and the creatures can identify each other by the smells. Otters are great moms! The larger the group, the larger the smear. All otters have very good hearing. At a very basic level, if we find spraint we know that otters … Green and Monick, Journal of Ethology, found that otters actually spend more time, standing, sniffing, and rubbing at spraint sites than just pooing. Each otter has its own unique spraint scent, almost like a fingerprint. It’s so aromatic, it has its own name: spraint. Dave is correct in saying they have a very distict smell and it is not unpleasent at all. Spraint comes in all shapes and sizes depending on the type of prey they have been eating and age and sex of the otter. For people fascinated by animal behavior, otters have long been a source of curiosity. Turkey Vultures find their food by smell, so either this otter had some nasty fish smell from a previous meal or some very ripe sprint nearby would be my guess. Not only do otters spread fecal-facts but they also rub at the sites, leaving behind scent and smell as well. To most people otter spraint has a pleasant musty smell whereas the smell of mink and fox faeces are unpleasant. Runways are the most common characteristic of an otter home, connecting small or large bodies of water together. The scent of an otter’s spraint determines the animal’s age, sex, and reproductive period. Plus otters each fish, which they are going to smell a bit like. Isn’t that a great word? 3. Their poop (called spraint) has a somewhat pleasant smell … Likened variously to that of freshly mown hay to putrefied fish, and reproductive period fragments and none the... Which enables them to communicate easily variously to that of freshly mown hay to fish. 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