Why Do Female Otters Have Nose Scars? Home > FYISource: Getty Female Otters Have Nose Scars Because They Engage in Some Rough Mating RitualsBy Mustafa GatollariJun. 3 2022, Published 4:40 p.m. ET So there you are scrolling through Instagram when boom: You're hit with an adorable video of an Otter dancing to Beenie Man's "Who Am I." Before you know it, you're an hour and a half behind in work after going down the rabbit hole of cute/strange animal videos and learning facts about them which, quite frankly, provide more information than you ever cared to learn. Like the answer to a question a lot of people have about female otters. Namely: Why do they all seem to have scars on their noses?Article continues below advertisementSource: Getty Why do female otters have scars Throughout your research of the cute, whiskered, slinky little carnivores, you may have noticed that in quite a few pictures of female otters, a lot of them have pink, gnarled noses instead of the black ones typical of otters. So why do they have so many scars?Article continues below advertisement Well, a lot of that has to do with the mating rituals of otters. Male otters tend to get extremely aggressive when they're cavorting about with potential matches. They will bite down on parts of a female's neck or, in many instances, their noses when they're in the throes of courtship. Foreplay for otters tends to look a lot like a competitive swimming match with tons of lunging after one another, circling around in the water, and twisting around. According to the folks at Seaworld, "A male approaches a female and attempts to embrace her with his forelegs or rub and sniff her body. If she is receptive, the two roll and frolic; if not, she will push him away. Copulation is preceded by vigorous play — chasing, swimming, diving, twisting, cork-screwing, and lunging."Article continues below advertisement And yes, there are mentions of the whole nose-biting thing: "In some species, the male bites the female's upper jaw or nose, in other species the male grasps the female by the scruff of the neck. Copulation takes place in the water, and lasts 10 to 30 minutes. When a male sea otter finds a receptive female, the two engage in playful and sometimes aggressive behavior." Oh that’s so sweet * must not mention drowning females and necrophilia * MALE SEA OTTERS DROWN FEMALES AND THEN KEEP THEIR CORPSES FOR SEX UNTIL THEY FALL APART Sorry. https://t.co/vyCnhT7ffF— Dr Adam Rutherford (@AdamRutherford) May 12, 2021 Source: Twitter @AdamRutherfordArticle continues below advertisement The site continues, "The male often grasps the female's nose in his teeth, causing it to become swollen and bloody. The wounds form pink scars that researchers can use to identify individual females." In fact, otters' mating rituals can tend to get a bit murderous. Tree Hugger writes: "When it comes to mating, male sea otters are aggressive. The males will grasp the female, then bite down onto her nose and hold on, usually resulting in deep cuts and gouges, sometimes with pieces of flesh torn away. The two spin in the water until mating is finished and the male releases the female. This can sometimes result in the death of the female, either from physical trauma or even drowning."Article continues below advertisement Q: What is their family structure? A: Sea otters will segregate themselves into same sex groups. The female rafts will consist of adult females and young usually < 1 year old pups, both male and female. pic.twitter.com/f2IezxarjG— Seattle Aquarium (@SeattleAquarium) September 23, 2021 Source: Twitter @SeattleAquarium There are even more dark facts about otters If this seems kind of violent and a bit shocking, there are some other pretty brutal facts about otters not many people know. If you search for "otters attacking people," you'll find that there are tons of stories spanning several years that tell of otters going buck nasty on members of our species. In fact, in 2021, one group of river otters went about attacking dogs and people in Alaska, for seemingly no reason at all.Article continues below advertisement wow female sea otters are angelic and male sea otters are like the worst animals on earth????— yura (@titorsalt) June 1, 2022 Source: Twitter @titorsalt Maybe they just wanted folks to stay away from "their turf," or it could just be that otters are known to be no-holds-barred when it comes to other animals. There's footage of a group of them killing a monkey they shared a zoo enclosure with. And then there was an otter that murdered a dog and kept its carcass around to use as a sex toy.Article continues below advertisement When sea otters mate, the male bites the female and sometimes even bites her nose off, is a thing I learned today, so fuck the sea otter patriarchy, too.— Naomi Tomky (@gastrognome) September 28, 2018 Source: Twitter @gastrognome Male otters will also hold a mother's baby hostage until she gives up her food. In 2019, Vox reported biologists Randall Davis and Heidi Pearson as writing: "A male approached a pup floating on the surface while its mother was diving for food. The male forced the pup underwater as if trying to drown it. When the female surfaced, the male stole her food (a clam), after which the female and pup quickly departed."AdvertisementMore from Distractify This Viral Video Shows Exactly Why You Shouldn't Mess With Lions This Baby Giraffe's Story of Dealing With Leg Braces Is Remarkable Dr. Jeff and Dr. Petra of ‘Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet’ Are Married Animal Rescuers Latest FYI News and UpdatesAdvertisementABOUT DistractifyAbout UsPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseDMCASitemapCONNECT with DistractifyLink to Facebook Link to TwitterLink to InstagramContact us by Email Copyright 2022 Distractify. Distractify is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.