Otters

 


Who doesn't love otters? If you have seen them lying on their backs holding hands, you can hardly fail to find them cute! But of course there is much more to otters than cuteness, and here you can learn about them and enjoy our printable activities with the kids too.

Learn about Otters

Otters love fish - but they will also eat frogs and crabs, small water birds and other small mammals. You will find them by rivers, lakes and seas. They are excellent swimmers, with webbed feet and powerful tails, and their thick fur keeps them warm. They can close their eyes and their nose when underwater.

World Otter Day is 30th May! That's a good excuse to find out more about these interesting creatures...

 

Otters for Kids

There are many different species of otter found around the world, including the sea otter (found on the Pacific coast of North America) and the giant otter (found mainly in South America), which can grow to up to 1.8m (just under 6ft). Otters are quite charming to watch, playing and frolicking and falling asleep on their backs, even holding hands, as they float. I was lucky enough to see some sea otters doing just that at the Monterey Bay Acquarium in California! They have a sea otter web cam so you might be able to see something like that too.

Otters were nearly wiped out in the UK in the 20th century, but conservation projects and cleaning up rivers has helped and they are now on the increase again. They live in underground burrows (known as holts) where they raise their cubs (or pups), who will be fine swimmers by 10 weeks old.

Fun Fact: A group of otters can be known as a bevy, a family, a lodge or a romp!

Our Otter Activities

Complete the Otter Puzzle

Complete the Otter Puzzle

Here's a challenge! Can the kids complete the otter by filling in the missing sections? Use the complete picture below for your first attempt - then hide it for a second!

Learn to Draw an Otter

Learn to Draw an Otter

Print and follow the step by step illustrations in our guide to learn to draw a playful otter.

Otter Acrostic Poem Printable

Otter Acrostic Poem Printable

Our acrostic poem printables make poetry work fun - and here are four to choose from for your O-T-T-E-R poems! They also make lovely writing frames for younger children.

Otter Booklet

Otter Booklet

Print and fold this little otter booklet for collecting all your facts and drawings! Kids can build up a whole library! Folding instructions are here.

Otter Bookmarks

Otter Bookmarks

These cute little otters will mark a place in a reading book very nicely! Choose from black and white or colour versions, and get ready for careful cutting out...

Otter Colouring Page

Otter Colouring Page

Here's a cute otter for the kids to colour in. Perhaps they could use lots of little strokes to show his fur?

Otter Colouring Page 2

Otter Colouring Page 2

This cute little otter couple are floating happily on their backs, holding hands, on a gentle river or lake. What a lovely colouring page for the kids!

Otter Fact Poster

Otter Fact Poster

Learn all about the otter with this printable poster, full of facts and interesting information for the kids. Why not laminate and add it to your British Wildlife display?

Otter Finger Tracing

Otter Finger Tracing

I've always thought that "otter" is a funny word, and that the otter is a funny looking animal, too! This finger tracing worksheet is a fun way for younger kids to learn their letters.

Otter Grid Copy

Otter Grid Copy

Can the kids copy this picture of an otter from one grid to the other? It takes some careful drawing skills (his paws might be tricky!).

Otter Handwriting Worksheet

Otter Handwriting Worksheet

Having fun with a wildlife theme? Why not add some handwriting practice into the mix with this "otter" worksheet!

Otter Jigsaw

Otter Jigsaw

Print out this otter for a quick Wildlife activity for the kids. You can tailor it to the age of your children by choosing the appropriate jigsaw cutting guide here.

Otter Notebooking Page

Otter Notebooking Page

We have a whole series of these notebooking pages for all the animals we cover at Activity Village. This set is for the otter - and they make a useful place for storing facts, information, drawings and even observations...

Otter Poster

Otter Poster

When you are doing a British Wildlife topic, you might want to display some of our simple animal posters or use them in your project work. Here's our otter poster, ready to print!

Otter Poster 2

Otter Poster 2

Otters are lovely wild animals, and you can sometimes spot them playing by rivers in the British countryside if you're very lucky. Or you can simply print out and enjoy our otter poster instead!

Otter Story Paper

Otter Story Paper

Will the kids write a story about an otter, or perhaps use this otter story paper for some desriptive writing or research...

Otter Story Paper 2

Otter Story Paper 2

Write a cute little story to go with this cute little picture of 2 adorable otters, floating gently and holding hands. They look like such happy creatures!

Otter Tracing Page

Otter Tracing Page

Let your children practise their fine motor control skills with our otter tracing page. 

Otter Word Tracing

Otter Word Tracing

Trace the dotted letters to write the word otter, then colour in the picture.

Otter Worksheet

Otter Worksheet

When you are learning about otters, filling in this fun worksheet will help you collect some interesting facts and information! Available in colour or black and white below.

Otter Writing Page

Otter Writing Page

Our otter writing page comes in either black or white or colour and is the perfect place for recording facts about or doing some project work on the otter.

Up Close with Otters!


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