Otter females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft. The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish; these are known as spraints. The gestation period in otters is about 60 to 86 days. The newborn pup is cared for by the bitch, dog and older offspring. Bitch otters reach sexual maturity at approximately two years of
Mammal and 2015. Some species, such as the [[Père David's deer]] are [[extinct in the wild]], and survive solely in captive populations. Other species, such as the [[Florida panther]], are [[Ecological extinction|ecologically extinct]], surviving in such low numbers that they essentially have no impact on the ecosystem. Other populations are only [[Local extinction|locally extinct]] (extirpated), still existing elsewhere, but reduced in distribution, as with the extinction of [[gray whale]]s in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. <br> [[Category:Mammals| ]] [[Category:Bathonian first appearances]] [[Category:Extant Middle Jurassic first appearances]] [[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] Mammal Mammals ( from Latin "mamma" "breast") are vertebrate animals constituting the