Adaptations

=__Adaptations__= The Fox Otter has powerful, retractable, claws for slicing at prey. The Fox Otter has the powerful sense of smell from the Sea Otter, and the great hearing of the arctic fox. It can bound up to 30 mph, and can pounce 6 feet. The Arctic Fox also has large, sharp teeth. Combined, the Fox Otter can smell and hear prey, then pounce from cover, quickly slash and kill the prey, and drag it back to the den with it's teeth. Also, if the prey runs, the fox otter can chase it, would it's rolling, bounding, gait. The Fox Otter can swim, and even float, because of the large lungs that it has. These lungs hold in enough air to keep the Fox Otter buoyant. This also increases the stamina of the Fox Otter, to run for great distances either away from predators, or after prey. Although there currently are no known predators of the Fox Otter, in the past, there were. Humans drove out bears and wolves from Stanley Park, but the Fox Otter survived. However, the Fox Otter adapted to predators before they were riven out, so the adaptation maintained. So, if a predator spots the Fox Otter, it can run over to the nearby lake, or sea, and swim out enough for the predator to go away, or drown. The Fox Otter can spend a long time in the water, as it can eat marine life, and sleep while it floats on its back. To survive those long periods in the water, the Fox Otter has thick fur that can keep out moisture. The Fox Otter has loose skin and a flexible backbone, allowing them to groom the fur, to keep it clean and waterproof. In case of a shortage in land-based prey, the Fox Otter can go into the water to hunt. The Fox Otter can never overpopulate, because of it's life cycle, which keeps the population level over time.

=__Senses__= In addition to the keen sense of hearing and smell, the Fox Otter has whiskers, that allows for it to sense prey underwater, when it cannot see clearly, due to turbidity in the water. It's sense of sight is just average.