The neotropical, southern, marine, giant, and California sea otters, as well as some subspecies of Eurasian otters and A.c. microdon, are listed on CITES Appen… Help protect endangered sea otters from extinction by learning more about this fascinating animal! The ultimate goal of southern sea otter recovery is to reestablish ecological relationships in the ecosystems where sea otters and other nearshore species coevolved. This was an extremely interesting article on some great creatures. Females typically give birth to a single pup, with care provided solely by the pupâs mother for the approximately 6 months until weaning. A look at 10 animals that might not be here today without the Endangered Species Act. African clawless otter. In 1938 only 50 sea otters remained off the California coast, but they have steadily made a comeback as a result of additional protections and scientific research – today they number nearly 3,000. They are one of the few animals known to use tools – they use small rocks to open shellfish. The Sea Otter was hunted to near extinction in the 19th century. CITES is an international treaty, developed in 1973, to regulate trade in certain wildlife species. Required fields are marked *, six − = 2 .hide-if-no-js { Their historic range is nearly all of the West coast of the U.S. up into Canada, Alaska, Russia and just south of Japan. Wearing a sea otter pelt symbolized wealth and power in many Asian countries, and therefore the demand for pelts remained high until the 1900’s. Humans are the biggest threat to sea otter populations. Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as California sea otters, were listed as threatened in 1977 under the Endangered Species Act. This results in their fur losing its insulating properties and rendering the sea otter unable to keep warm. Sea otters are the smallest marine mammal in North America, but one of the largest members of the weasel family. Currently the southern sea otter population is estimated at just above 3,000 animals. Your email address will not be published. Sea otters are commonly spotted on WWF’s Alaska tours. Within the state of Alaska, the Southeast and Southcentral stocks are stable. All that hair requires a lot of maintenance and sea otters can often be observed grooming their coat. Sea otters nearly went extinct in the early 1900s because of the fur trade. Unlike lakes and streams, seawater — or ocean water — is salty. If you have any questions regarding the southern sea otter, please contact: Lilian Carswell - Southern Sea Otter Recovery & Marine Conservation Coordinator, By mail: Sea Otters . sea: An ocean (or region that is part of an ocean). River otters are common and of “least concern” in California, but are threatened or endangered in some other states. The Southern Sea Otter & Southwest Stock of Northern Sea Otters in Alaska are both listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Exactly, that would be terrible. An adult sea otter is about 4 feet long and females can weigh up to 50 pounds, whereas males can weigh closer to 70 pounds. display: none !important; Reduced range and population size, vulnerability to oil spills, and oil spill risk from coastal tanker traffic were the primary reasons for listing. Sea otters are the primary predator of sea urchins and are solely, http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/marine-mammals/southern-sea-otter. They are at great risk of extinction due to many reasons such as fur trade, shark attacks, habitat degradation, oil spills ,fishing nets, disease and being viewed as competition. Other threats to southern sea otters include entrapment or entanglement in fishing gear, oil spills, and climate change. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/stories/threats-facing-sea-otters Thank you MS BAILLARGEON. Individuals are often seen smashing rocks against clams or mussels when floating on their back, in order to use minimal effort to eat the soft bodied invertebrates inside the shell. Their findings have implications for the conservation of rare and endangered species, in … For example, the Exxon oil spill in Valdez, Alaska killed several thousand sea otters. CITES Appendix I lists species identified as endangered. The Southwestern stock is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Keystone species are organisms that have large-scale community effects disproportionate to their abundance. Sea otters naturally thrive in nearshore habitats. Sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction in the late 1700s … I decided to not be too risky, so I went with the 48% milk chocolate flavor, which happens to have a sea otter on the cover. Luckily for kelp forests, sea otter’s favorite meal is sea urchins. Unfortunately, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B In the United States Otters are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Ventura, CA 93003, Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation 3.31mb PDF, Final Incidental Harassment Authorization for Waterfront Repairs at U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey, Request for Incidental Harassment Authorization for Waterfront Repairs at U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey, Proposed Incidental Harassment Authorization, Final Incidental Harassment Authorization, Marine Mammals; Incidental Take During Specified Activities; Proposed Incidental Harassment Authorization, Incidental Harassment Authorization Request and Monitoring Plan, Comments Received on Proposed Incidental Harassment Authorization, Big Sur Monterey Sea Otter Study Draft Report PDF 8.5mb, Featured Story - Slowly Swimming Towards Recovery, California's Sea Otter Numbers Holding Steady, Termination of the Southern Sea Otter Translocation Program; Final Rule, Summary of comments received on final SEIS and Proposed Rule, Letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Donald Schregardus FSEIS Comments [871 kb], Final Supplemental EIS on the Translocation of Southern Sea Otters - Volume 1 [5.59mb], Final Supplemental EIS on the Translocation of Southern Sea Otters - Volume 2 [18.74mb], Final Recovery Plan for the Southern Sea Otter [1.8mb)], Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office Sea otters today are considered a species that is endangered. Pup rearing and provisioning impose high energetic costs on females, requiring them to increase foraging effort during this period and leaving them highly susceptible to stressors they may encounter when they come into estrous after weaning, such as infections and aggression by males. Sea otters are complex social animals who are rarely territorial due to their need for social interaction with other otters. Today the species is protected under the Endangered Species Act & Marine Mammal Protection Act. Sea otter populations used to thrive all the way from Baja California to the Pacific Rim, but were heavily hunted for the lucrative fur trade. It has the greatest body length of any species in the mustelid family, although the sea otter may be heavier. The translocation program allowed the reintroduction of sea otters to San Nicolas Island but also required the removal of sea otters from a âno-otterâ management zone. Sea otters eat while floating on their back as their underside serves as a personal dinner table and they are the only marine mammal known to use tools in order to eat hard-shelled prey. The sea otter once ranged from Baja California to the Pacific Northwest to Russia and Japan. Due to sea otter’s unusually high metabolism, an adult consumes about 25% of its body weight every day! ReefNation.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. The chocolate bars actually provide the consumer with a lot of cool information about different endangered species of animals as well as a delicious treat. Sea otters are a keystone species and play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ocean ecosystem. The Southern Sea Otter & Southwest Stock of Northern Sea Otters in Alaska are both listed as “threatened” under the Endangered … https://www.onlinequizcreator.com/endangered-species-quiz-sea-otters/quiz-180728. Males are between 1.5 and 1.7 m (4.9 and 5.6 ft) in length from head to tail and females between 1 and 1.5 m (3.3 and 4.9 ft). Additionally, their strong paws and sharp teeth coupled with their intelligence enable them to hunt for prey efficiently. They are adept hunters as they are excellent swimmers and can dive for up to 5 minutes! Sea Otter Facts California’s southern sea otter has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 1977. It prohibits commercial harvest of sea otters, and allows Alaska natives to hunt sea otters for subsistence and creation of handicrafts. An interesting physical characteristic of sea otters are their built in pockets under their forearms that serve as a place to stash prey while diving so they can maximize their catch. The otter is one of the few mammals that use tools. Range expansion is key to southern sea otter recovery and to the restoration of ecosystems in which sea otters were once the keystone species. The animals that they prey on devour kelp forests. In order to keep warm during cold days, large groups of sea otters are seen holding hands while lying on their backs, forming what looks like a sea otter raft. Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as California sea otters, were listed as threatened in 1977 under the Endangered Species Act. The kelp forests are crucial to their survival because they not only provide a safe place to birth young, but also a steady food supply and constant shelter. Before the fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters ranged along the North Pacific Rim from Hokkaido, Japan to Baja California, Mexico. Sea otters have very low genetic diversity, scientists report. Unlike most other marine mammals, they have little subcutaneous fat, relying instead on their clean, dense, water resistant fur for insulation against the cold. Globally, sea otters are considered to be secure. Reduced range and population size, vulnerability to oil spills, and oil spill risk from coastal tanker traffic were the primary reasons for listing. The Sea Otter was hunted to near extinction in the 19th century. Sea otters are a keystone species and play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ocean ecosystem. For southern sea otters to be considered for delisting under the Endangered Species Act, the population index would have to exceed 3,090 for three consecutive years, according to the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan. Kelp forests are frequently plagued by overwhelming numbers of sea urchins who eat away at the kelp’s holdfast (part that attaches to ocean floor) and kill the kelp as it is no longer anchored to the seafloor. The body condition of sea otters in areas of the range with low per-capita prey availability strongly influences their susceptibility to additional stressors. The rocky bottom and lush kelp bed environment that the otters inhabit have largely determined how they adapted and specialized in the ocean ecosystem. They also have a reduced population size, which puts them in danger of becoming extinct. Sea otters are a highly endangered marine mammal. Today southern sea otters have reclaimed about 13 percent of their historic range: the mainland coastline from San Mateo County to Santa Barbara County, California, and San Nicolas Island, Ventura County (as a result of translocation efforts initiated in 1987). Ranging from climate change, to oil spills, to pollution there are many threats that have hindered sea otters from being more prosperous and being upgraded from endangered to threatened. Although sea otters have recovered from the devastating effects of the fur trade, the greatest threat to sea otters is oil spills. Shockingly, sea otters are also one of the most endangered species in the Pacific, as they were nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1900’s. Today the species is protected under the Endangered Species Act & Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Marine Mammal Protection Act states that marine mammal stocks âshould not be permitted to diminish beyond the point at which they cease to be a significant functioning element in the ecosystem of which they are a part.â For southern sea otters, this likely means that the population would have to exceed 8,400 animals in California alone. https://www.onlinequizcreator.com/endangered-species-quiz-sea-otters/quiz-180728, Image 1: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/marine-mammals/southern-sea-otter, http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/sea-otter.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/sea-otter/, http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/seaotter.htm. Sea otters are the primary predator of sea urchins and are solely responsible for keeping their population in check and preserving the kelp forests. Sea otters are often seen either individually or in large groups, wrapped in kelp and floating on the water’s surface. Under state law, southern sea otters are "fully protected" mammals. Currently, there are only 3,000 sea otters left in the wild, making them heavily endangered. The IUCN Red List has listed sea otters as an endangered species since 2000 and their current population status is decreasing. They are at great risk of extinction due to many reasons such as fur trade, shark attacks, habitat degradation, oil spills ,fishing nets, disease and being viewed as competition. Direct conflict with humans, through shootings, fishing gear entanglements and boat strikes, take a toll on sea otters, but oil spills, pollution, disease and loss of kelp pose major threats. by Gabbie Baillargeon | May 26, 2016 | Featured, Latest News, Reef Life. With up to one million hairs per square inch of skin, this species has the densest fur of any mammal . Threats. Sea otter counts are conducted annually by the U.S. Geological Survey. The findings have implications for the conservation of rare and endangered species, in which low genetic diversity could increase the odds of extinction. The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects sea otters. Sea otters play a vital role in the health and stability of the nearshore marine ecosystem as a keystone species OCEANWALKERS Sea otter’s diet consists almost entirely of marine invertebrates with some of their favorite menu items including: sea urchins, crabs, snails, and mussels. Therefore, sea otters are crucial to maintaining kelp forest levels, which provide cover and food for many marine animals. However, due to being hunted so heavily in the early 20th century their current range is: San Mateo County to Santa Barbara, California, the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands to Prince William Sound, and just north of Japan. }. Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp in order to anchor them to an immobile object and avoid drifting off with the current while they rest or nap. Sea otters are generally considered to be a keystone species in these communities. Imagine a world without a picture of those cute, little guys to brighten up your day? The team analyzed the genome of Gidget, a female sea otter from the Monterey Bay Aquarium who died this year. Imagine a world without a picture of those cute, little guys to brighten up your day? Instead of having blubber to keep them warm in the frigid Pacific ocean, sea otters have a dual layer coat of fur that is the densest of any marine mammal. For these reasons, the sea otter remains classified as an endangered species. Then, in the 1700s and 1800s, hunters and fur traders killed so many that the population was devastated. Sea otters have low genetic diversity, which could endanger their health as a species, a UCLA-led team of life scientists has discovered. They are the keystone species of the Pacific kelp forest ecosystem as they keep the entire ecosystem in check and are needed in order to maintain balance. US Fish and Wildlife Service Your email address will not be published. They are dedicated mothers who give birth to one pup per year and spend the whole year teaching their pups how to live like sea otters. When oil spills into the water, it coats the sea otter’s fur and blocks their fur’s natural waterproofing ability. sea otter: A member of the weasel family, sea otters have the densest fur known among animals. Sea otters are best known for their adorable appearance and playful behavior; however, they are much more than just a pretty face. Courtesy Monterey Bay Aquarium. They eat 40 plus different types of species such as clams, urchins, and snails. 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