61. Zoobooks - The Encyclopedia Of Animals The name fits sea otters well because they spend almost all of their time in the ocean. There are several spots on the sea otter below. Can you find them? http://www.zoobooks.com/newFrontPage/animals/virtualZoo/petseaotters.htm

Virtual Zoo Pet the Sea Otters The scientific name for the sea otter is Enhydra lutris, which means "otter in the water." The name fits sea otters well because they spend almost all of their time in the ocean. There are several spots on the sea otter below. Can you find them? Pet the sea otter and learn more about these irresistible animals. Click here to play "You Otter Be in Pictures," a fun game that teaches you even more about otters. I want to listen to a sea otter I want to pet another animal I want to learn more about this animal. I want to learn about more animals I want to play guess-who Quiz me about sea otters.

62. Sea Otters They started to explore the Pacific Ocean for sea otters because Sea Otter fur got The sea otters off of the California Coast soon became endangered. http://www.tgmag.ca/envbrain/seaotter.html

Sea Otters Why Are They Endangered? The Europeans didn't know about the Sea Otter until 1741. They found the Sea Otter when some men were down on the beach and the Sea Otters were in a bed of kelp. The sailors started killing them for food, clothing and fur blankets. They started to explore the Pacific Ocean for Sea Otters because Sea Otter fur got very popular in China. Spanish settlers traded otter pelts to the Europeans for things that they needed. The Sea Otters off of the California Coast soon became endangered. The U.S.A., Russia, Japan, and Great Britain decided in 1911 that they would no longer hunt seals or Sea Otters. By that time, everybody thought the Sea Otter was extinct, but, there were a few hidden in the Bays and coves of the Aleutian Islands. Facts About The Sea Otter: Where they live: The Sea Otter lives in the Pacific Ocean. They dwell near the Western shores and the United States. Sea Otters seldom leave the water. Activities: Sea Otters mostly swim on their back. They also eat and sleep on their back by floating. To keep warm and comfortable they sleep on their back in a bunch of kelp. Food: Sea Otters eat a fifth of their own body weight. They eat octopus, fish, jelly fish, clams, crabs, sea urchins, mussels, abalones and squid. To break open their food they either use rocks or bang them against each other. Sea Otters dive 180 feet for their food and can stay under water for 4 minutes to catch their food.

63. Science News For Kids: Feature: Sea Otters, Kelp, And Killer Whales Learning more about sea otters can help rescue the animals and save coastal ecosystems. http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20040324/Feature1.asp

Home Article Archive Agriculture Animals ... Next Site Search Sea Otters, Kelp, and Killer Whales Jessa Forte Netting E-mail this article Print this article March 24, 2004 Walk along a wild, rocky stretch of the Washington State coast and you might catch a glimpse of a furry creature bobbing on its back in the waves. The basking animal is likely to be a sea otter. "They're the teddy bears of the ocean," says C.J. Casson. He's curator of mammals and birds at the Seattle Aquarium. A sea otter lolling in the water. Seattle Aquarium Floating on a bed of seaweed or cracking a clam on its chest, a sea otter looks as if it doesn't have a care in the world. Otter researchers such as Casson know better. For 150 years, sea otters were hunted so heavily for their fur that, by 1910, they had disappeared from the waters off Washington and Oregon. They've made a comeback in Washington with help from scientists and conservationists. But, according to ocean mammal researcher Ed Bowlby, Washington's otters aren't out of the woods yet. And other groups of sea otters in California and Alaska have taken a turn for the worse. California otters seem to be getting sick more often than they used to. In Alaska, the rapid loss of sea otters turns out to have a shocking cause. Killer whales have started eating them.

64. Ed Tussey.com - Alaskan Fine Art Alaskan, marine, wildlife, and landscape prints and original paintings by artist Ed Tussey. Glaciers, whales, seascapes, and sea otters are some of the sujects Mr. Tussey captures on canvas. http://www.edtussey.com

Tussey's Fine Arts welcomes you to the website of artist Ed Tussey This site will enable you to view the artist's limited edition prints, current print values , information on new releases upcoming shows and exhibits originals , and a listing of galleries that feature the work of Ed Tussey. Please contact us with any inquiries you may have regarding Tussey artwork. - Jacki Tussey, Tussey's Fine Arts home prints originals about the artist galleries ... what's new Designed by and may not be used without permission.

65. MBNMS: California Sea Otter Game Refuge Otter Reserve pano. A section of the California Sea Otter Game Refuge looking south along the Big Sur coast. sea otters used to be found all along the http://bonita.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/visitor/access/otterRes.html

Visitor Overview An Invitation to the Sanctuary ... Present Weather and Sea Conditions California Sea Otter Game Refuge This refuge extends in the north from the Carmel River to the Santa Rosa Creek in San Luis Obispo County in the south. The Sea Otter Education Center, located just east of Carmel, is a good stopping place for information on both sea otters and the refuge itself. The preferred habitat of sea otters is in sheltered 50-75 foot deep waters. They can be found around rocky islands, small coves, or in kelp beds. They often wrap themselves up in kelp and float together in large groups, called rafts. The largest raft of sea otters ever seen was over 2000 otters. They are most frequently seen floating on their backs, eating, grooming themselves, or snoozing in the sun. A section of the California Sea Otter Game Refuge looking south along the Big Sur coast. Sea otters used to be found all along the west coast of North America, from Baja to Alaska. It's been estimated their numbers were once in the millions. Overzealous fur traders hunted them to near extinction. In fact, by the early 1900's they were thought to have been wiped out entirely, until 1938, when a California couple spotted a group off the Big Sur coast. Even though the number of sea otters has been making a slow recovery, their territory is still very much diminished. They can be found in only two small remaining areas, one around Alaska and the other in central California centered along the Big Sur coastline .

66. Southern Sea Otter - The Green Gate From NRDC Southern sea otters are native to San Francisco Bay, and were plentiful here Over the last few decades, the sea otters have expanded their territory and http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/wildlife/otterf.asp

Sea Otters Still Have Not Returned to Bay Southern sea otters are native to San Francisco Bay, and were plentiful here until they were hunted nearly out of existence more than a century ago. Because the sea otter is a "keystone species," occupying a spot near the top of the food chain, the health of the sea otter population is an important indicator of the overall health of the Bay Area ecosystem. Thanks to protective measures, California's otter population has slowly rebounded, but no otters have returned to the bay. Moreover, a recent dip in the statewide population is cause for concern. Findings NRDC researchers gathered data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the numbers and general health of the southern sea otter population (the southern sea otter is one of three sea otter subspecies; it is found only off the California coast). The data indicate that the otter population has grown steadily, if very slowly, since 1920, after severe overhunting drove its numbers down to around 50. Just in the last few years, however, the population has dipped again and only 2,161 were counted in the Fish and Wildlife Service's spring 2001 survey. Biologists studying the animals attribute the recent decline to environmental contaminants, as well as to a parasite problem. Over the last few decades, the sea otters have expanded their territory and now range roughly from Half Moon Bay to Santa Barbara, with a small population at San Nicholas in the Channel Islands. While occasional sightings have been reported near the Golden Gate in recent years, sea otters no longer make their home in the San Francisco Bay area.

67. Ocean Friends Images - Home By Paul Ratcliffe. Photographs of marine mammals; including whales, dolphins, seals, and sea otters. http://www.oceanfriendsimages.com/

Home Gallery Ordering Bio Contact ... Information Paul Ratcliffe, an award winning and internationally published photographer, has been photographing whales and other marine life for over 20 years. Through these pictures, presented here at Ocean Friends Images , he hopes to show the beauty and majesty of these amazing animals.

68. Search For The Missing Sea Otters: An Ecological Detective Story - Introduction Search for the Missing sea otters An Ecological Detective Story Introduction - by Mary E. Allen and Mark L. Kuhlmann, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY. http://www.sciencecases.org/sea_otters/sea_otters.asp

Search for the Missing Sea Otters: An Ecological Detective Story Introduction by Mary E. Allen and Mark L. Kuhlmann Department of Biology Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY The Problem Dr. James Estes, a marine ecologist with the U. S. Geological Survey, and his coworkers recently found that the sea otter population in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska had crashed since 1990. Although wild animal populations always rise and fall to some degree, a decline of this size cried out to be explained. The decline in the sizes of sea otter populations inhabiting the Aleutian Islands, which was observed by Dr. Estes and his group, was indeed large. On some islands the sea otter populations declined by 90 percent in fewer than 10 years (see Figures and )! What could cause such a rapid decline in the number of otters in this island chain of Alaska? Over the next several weeks, we will consider this problem from several perspectives. As we work to solve this mystery, keep in mind the following questions. Figure 1. Changes in the relative abundance of sea otters at several locations in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. (Redrawn from Estes et al., 1998.)

69. ATDP Marine Biology II sea otters are marine mammals that were hunted relentlessly in the sea otters may spend almost their entire lives in kelp beds and play a very important http://www-atdp.berkeley.edu/SDCLASSES/1453inbox/otters.html

Sea Otters Return to Previous Page

70. How To Catch Sea Otters. How to catch sea otters. The whole company camps at a spot along the coast where that sea otter are to be found, and awaits good weather and a calm sea. http://www.hallman.org/indian/otter.html

How to hunt sea otters, 1835. From F.P. Wrangles report on the ethnography of the Northwest Coast, circa 1835 How to catch sea otters. The whole company camps at a spot along the coast where it is thought that sea otter are to be found, and awaits good weather and a calm sea. When these conditions arrive, they sail 40 versts [a measure of distance] or more from the coast to find a place were observations of those Aleuts who have an instinct for the hunt indicate that the animals are to be found. Having reached the spot, the baidars position themselves in a straight line, leaving about 250 fathoms between each boat, sufficient to be able to see a partially submerged otter; thus, one party of 30 baidars can cover 10-12 versts. If more boats are present, the line stretches even farther. As soon as all the boats are in position, the occupants turn their attention to the surface of the sea around each boat. Nothing escapes the piercing gaze of the Aleut. His skilled eye can recognized the otter in the smallest black tip which surfaces momentarily. The baidar from which the animal was first seen quickly paddles to the spot where it submerged; then, the Aleut sitting in the boat raises his paddle, remaiing motionless in his seat. Immediately, the whole fleet begins to move; the straightline forms a wide circle around the baidar with the raised paddle. The latter now glides to the spot whre he expects his otter to surface, and as soon as the animal appears, the Aleut shoots the arrow which he had been holding ready.

71. Sitka WhaleFest; Alaska Whale Conference Marine tour in Sitka Sound focuses on whales, sea otters, and coastal habitats. Events include sea chantey concert, run/walk, and banquet. http://www.sitkawhalefest.org/

Attend the 9th Annual Sitka WhaleFest November 4-6, 2005 W hale Wa tching in Beautiful Sitka Sound L earn about the most recent studies on humpback whales and other marine wildlife! Site design by Big Bear Productions Built with Bear Hands.

72. Animal FAQs - Alaska Sea Otters How do Alaska sea otters keep warm if they don t have blubber? Alaska sea otters depend on their fur and a fast metabolism for protection from the cold. http://www.sheddaquarium.org/ani_faqs_01.html

Alaska sea otters Beluga Whales Dolphins Fishes Harbor Seals ... What are threats to Alaska sea otters in the wild? How did Shedd get its four Alaska sea otters? The three oldest are rehabbed orphans from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the youngest is an orphan from an Alaskan storm in 1990. How do Alaska sea otters keep warm if they don't have blubber? Alaska sea otters depend on their fur and a fast metabolism for protection from the cold. The fur is made up of outer guard hairs and extremely dense under fur. When the otters groom, they trap air at the base of the under fur to provide an insulating layer of air between their skin and the cold water. The guard hairs cling together, forming a protective covering that helps to keep the under fur dry. Natural oils in the fur also help to repel water. The fur must be clean and meticulously groomed. A sea otter also has an extremely fast metabolism. An adult eats the equivalent of 20 to 25 percent of its body weight daily, which amounts to about 17 pounds of food for an adult male. What do you feed the Alaska sea otters?

73. Glacier Bay Hot Real Estate For Sea Otters, Alaska Science Forum In summer 2002, Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University completed a mission to drill ice from a platform 14500 feet above sea level in a pass between http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF17/1743.html

Alaska Science Forum March 24, 2005 Glacier Bay hot real estate for sea otters Article #1743 by Ned Rozell This column is provided as a public service by the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer at the institute. The Russians and later the Americans almost wiped out Alaska's sea otters because the otter's fur is among the thickest in the animal world, with more hairs per square centimeter than the total on any person's head, according to otternet.com. Males can be nearly five feet long and can weigh more than 100 pounds. They dive to the sea floor to hunt and eat while floating on their backs, using their forepaws to eat sea urchins, clams, mussels, crabs, and octopus. Starting in 1965, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game captured otters on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians and some in Prince William Sound, releasing 412 off the coast of Southeast Alaska, a few of those off Cape Spencer near Glacier Bay. In the mid-1990s, some otters found their way into Glacier Bay. Bodkin and his coworkers counted five otters during an aircraft survey of Glacier Bay in 1995. They counted 39 in 1996 and 21 in 1997, but since then the yearly counts have showed more and more otters. From 2000 to 2001, sea otter numbers more than doubled, from 554 to 1,238.

74. Chris' Whale Watching Tours - Monterey Bay, CA Whale watching excursions along scenic Monterey Bay. See whales, dolphins, and sea otters. http://www.chrisswhalewatching.com/

For information and reservations call us at We offer full service guided Family Friendly whale watching tours year around in the third largest deep submarine canyon in the world. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the home to 27 species of marine mammals, 100+ species of marine birds, 345 species of fish and the leatherback turtle [View Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Map and learn more] On our whale watching tours you'll get a once in a lifetime educational experience. There is something for all ages and everyone in the family. We have the most experienced skippers in Northern California. Our renowned skippers have the skills, knowledge and experience to navigate our huge Marine Sanctuary. We will take you to the marine life. Our skippers are known for their ability to find Gray whales, Killer whales, dolphins, turtles, porpoises and a variety and many different types or marine life. School and group rates are available

75. The Seattle Times: Local News: Sea Otters' Revival In State Waters Brings New Co seattletimes.com Northwest news and information from the Seattle Times. Daily local news, sports, arts and entertainment, and classified ads. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001995325_otters03m.html

Your account Today's news index Weather Traffic ... SERVICES Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - Page updated at 12:35 A.M. Sea otters' revival in state waters brings new concerns By Sandi Doughton Seattle Times staff reporter JAMES BRANAMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Two sea otters play in a kelp bed at Cape Alava, Clallam County. Sea otters, which were killed off by fur traders a century ago, rapidly are returning to the Washington coast. E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles ... Most e-mailed articles With eyes sharpened by a decade of field experience, he can tell it's going to be a good day. "There's two resting groups over there," he says, pointing at distant mats of kelp undulating in the swell. To the unschooled observer, nothing in the water remotely resembles a furry mammal. "They look like little logs," Stafford prompts, attaching his spotting scope to a tripod and zooming in on a slumbering male floating belly-up, chin resting on its chest. Then Stafford, too, settles into a comfortable perch for his day's work: quantifying the remarkable rebirth of a species eradicated by fur traders a century ago. The summer sea-otter count is an annual ritual for Stafford and a dozen other biologists; this year, they tallied about 700 animals from Destruction Island, near the Hoh river, to the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The first census, in 1977, found 19 animals.

76. True North Kayak Adventures Paddle protected waters inhabitied with sea otters, puffins and seals. No experience necessary. http://www.truenorthkayak.com

Choose A Trip Yukon Island Elephant Island Eagle Nest Eldred Passage Kayak/Hike Day Trip Package Custom Options Kayak with sea otters, bald eagles and puffins in protected waters surrounded by majestic peaks. Located in Homer, Alaska, we are one of the oldest and most respected sea kayak companies on the Kenai Peninsula. No experience necessary. True North Kayak Adventures PO Box 2319 Homer, Alaska 99603 kayak@xyz.net

77. Sea Otters sea otters are the smallest marine animals. And otters are different from sea otters fur keeps them warm by trapping a layer of air next to their skin. http://www.units.muohio.edu/dragonfly/save/seaotters.shtml

Sea otters are the smallest marine animals. And otters are different from other marine mammals, such as seals, and whales, because they depend only on their fur to stay warm in their cold ocean home. Their fur keeps them warm by trapping a thin layer of air next to their skin, even when they are diving underwater. Sea otters' fur keeps them warm by trapping a layer of air next to their skin. The Problem What would happen to a sea otter if its fur were coated with thick, black oil? Oil tankersships that sometimes carry millions of liters of oilsail up and down the Pacific coast from California to Alaska. The tankers pass right through sea otter habitat. If an oil tanker wrecks, oil spills into the ocean, threatening otters and other creatures. My friends and I began some research to answer two questions: 1) How does oil affect sea otters; and 2) can otters be cleaned and returned to the wild, if they become oiled? We discovered that when a sea otter's fur was oiled, the fur can no longer hold the protective air layer. Without this air layer, the otters could not stay warm and would eventually die. We needed to find a way to clean oiled sea otters so that the air layer could be restored.

78. Sea Otters Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters do not have a protective layer of sea otters consume approximately 20% of their body weight in food daily. http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/sea_otters.ht

A Closer Look at Marine Mammals Dolphins and Other Small Cetaceans Dugongs Great Whales ... Videos Receive action alerts, tips, news and special offers via e-mail. Home Marine Mammals A Closer Look at Marine Mammals Sea Otters Sea Otters Sea otters consume approximately 20% of their body weight in food daily. They dive to the bottom of their shallow shoreline habitat to feed upon sea urchins, clams, oysters, and other shellfish. Only strong males are able to catch fish. The otters return to the surface with their prey, float on their backs, and strike the shellfish together or against rocks to pry them open. Sea otters have a strong influence on coastal ecosystems. They restrict the sea urchin populations in near-shore habitats, allowing kelp forests to flourish (sea urchins graze heavily on kelp). It's easy to see where sea otters thrive: Just look for abundant kelp. Pups are born (generally one per litter) after a six-month gestation period and remain with their mother for 12 weeks. Fathers play no role in the offspring's upbringing; the two sexes tend to remain separate except when breeding. There are three subspecies of sea otters, two of which are in the United States. The Southern, or California, sea otter (

79. The Kenai Peninsula's Coastal Sea Otters The coastal waters around the Kenai Peninsula contain abundant numbers of sea otters and it seems the population is continuing to expand. http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Wildlife/kpotters.html

by Klondike Kid Sea Otters, Seals and Sea Lions on the Kenai Peninsula The cutest of all saltwater wildlife has to be the sea otter. Its whiskery "old man" look and innocence make it a mammal that everyone loves to view. The coastal areas surrounding the Kenai Peninsula support large numbers of sea otters as well as populations of seals and sea lions. Otters are frequent visitors to kelp patches where much of their primary food sources occur. Seals and sea lions feed in more open waters primarily for herring and other bait fish but best viewing is along rocky shorelines where they haul out to sunbathe. Shore-based Viewing Although viewing from shore is somewhat limited there are a few locations which will give you an opportunity to view and photograph these creatures. If you are in Homer , I have always encountered a sea otter or two swimming just off the beach at the end of the Homer Spit around Land's End Resort. This area provides no protection for them so the ones that frequent this location are passing through during their feeding. Its a waiting game but you won't be bored. The view of the bay, glaciers, mountains and the procession of sport and commercial fishing boats is breath-taking. If you are in Seward , you will have excellent opportunities to view sea lions and sea otters right in town near the Small Boat Harbor. A large number of

80. The Ocean Conservancy: Sea Otters The smallest of all marine mammals, southern sea otters once thrived from Northern Today, only about 2000 southern sea otters exist, and they face many http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=fw_otters

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