Too cute to be a threatened species
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

Protecting the Southern Sea Otter<\/h2>\n

Who wins the coveted \u201cMost Adorable\u201d award in the marine mammal yearbook year after year?<\/p>\n

The California Sea Otter\u2014hands down (or paws up, depending on your perspective).<\/p>\n

If you travel to the California Central Coast and look to the Pacific Ocean or its estuaries (or visit the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium), chances are good that you will see some playful Southern Sea Otters. And you\u2019ll fall in love.<\/p>\n

Paws up
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

This threatened species is an ocean treasure of form and function . . . with a large dose of cute.<\/p>\n

As you learn more about these intelligent creatures, the \u201cOh, I see” moments<\/strong>\u00a0about their life and challenges will make them favorites for a long time.<\/p>\n

A raft of sea otters, resting together
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

The Charismatic Sea Otter<\/h4>\n

What makes the California Sea Otter so special?<\/p>\n

\n
• Their koala-like face sprinkled with long cat whiskers provides an intriguing mix of playfulness and inherent wisdom.<\/li>\n
• They sport a fur coat to die for (and they did\u2014back in the fur trade days). We are fortunate that they have rallied from being almost extinct to a community of about 3200 on the California Central Coast (with the help of protection laws, of course).\n
  

  Diving for food
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n

• The luxurious coat comes complete with pockets where they stuff their sea treasures. They\u2019ve been seen to dive for food, and, if their paws are also going to be full, they stuff a few more shrimp or sand dollars in their pockets before they surface. Jackpot!\n
  

  Munching on restaurant-quality shellfish
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n

• They are an eclectic blend of paws and flippers\u2014with arms almost comically too short for their long streamlined bodies. But all parts work together so they are experts at diving for food, foraging for invertebrates (using their whiskers and paws), and finding tools to crack open the stubborn shells that house most of their food.<\/li>\n
• They are one of the few mammals to use tools and will make you smile with anthropomorphic appreciation as they attack a clam or abalone shell with a rock or whatever is handy (an abandoned sea-floating flip flop?)\n
  

  Whatever tool is handy
  \u00a9 Sea Otter Savvy<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n

• They enjoy food with a crunch\u2014restaurant-quality shellfish such as sea urchins, clams, mussels, crabs, snails, and abalone. (Note: The Monterey Bay Aquarium spends $15,000 a year to feed each of their rescued otters.)\n
  

  When on land, sea otters look like their family cousins\u2014weasels, ferrets, and badgers.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n

• They have no blubber. Although this might seem like a weight watcher\u2019s dream, they have to keep their metabolism high to stay warm\u2014usually by eating about 25% of their body weight every day. (Think about it: If you\u2019re a 180-pound person, you\u2019d have to eat 20 pizzas a day. Too much?)<\/li>\n
• They also must groom their fur for 3\u20136 hours a day (perhaps a little longer on date night). They are trapping air between their outer hairs and underfur to make sure they stay warm. They are proud to have the densest fur on Earth, with up to one million hairs per square inch.\n
  

  A stomach that doubles as a kitchen counter and dining room table
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n

• They have a streamlined body, with a stomach as flat as an aircraft carrier\u2014perfect for preparing a feast and dining in style.<\/li>\n
• The sea otter also serves as an ecologic helper. Their favorite food is the sea urchin, which loves to feast on underwater forests. So, as they eat the sea urchins, they help to protect kelp forests for other creatures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
  

  Relaxing in the wild (Elkhorn Slough)
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Protecting this Treasure<\/h4>\n

  With all the sea otters’ positive features, it is important to protect the otter community. They survived being hunted for fur. They now have to survive oil spills and being a target of Great White Sharks\u2019 \u201ctest bites\u201d (by the time the shark discovers the otter is just a bag of fur, it\u2019s usually too late for the otter).<\/p>\n

  

  Kayakers should keep their distance from otters (five kayak lengths),
  to give them space to eat and rest in peace.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  They also have to survive all those folks who are curious about their special life\u2014the parade of \u00a0kayakers, paddleboarders, and boaters.<\/p>\n

  Several groups come to the rescue. The Southern Sea Otter is protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.<\/p>\n

  

  Signs help to educate kayakers about sea otter life.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Organizations like Sea Otter Savvy and the Monterey Bay Aquarium also provide education to the public to ensure that the otters can eat and rest in peace.<\/p>\n

  

  Kayak companies are vigilant about education before kayakers go out.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Every time a kayaker or boat gets too close to an otter, the otter is disturbed and has to use precious energy to move away.<\/p>\n

  To remind kayakers and boaters of proper otter etiquette, Sea Otter Savvy works with kayak companies to place decals in every rented kayak or paddleboard. These decals remind visitors to give the otters space and to pass them in parallel. Don\u2019t approach them head on or encircle them.<\/p>\n

  

  Decals in every kayak to guide visitors toward proper otter etiquette
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  To add to visitors\u2019 education, Sea Otter Savvy also hosted a nationwide limerick contest and has now posted signs near otter habitats with the winners\u2019 poetry.<\/p>\n

  Don\u2019t paddle too close while we\u2019re searchin\u2019<\/em>
  \nFor a crab or a tasty sea urchin.<\/em>
  \nDon\u2019t land on our beach,<\/em>
  \nand stay well out of reach,<\/em>
  \nOr you\u2019ll frighten us into submergin\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

  \u2014Laura Crowley<\/p>\n

  

  There once was a sign with a limerick . . .
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  When you\u2019re out enjoying the water<\/em>
  \nBeware the inquisitive otter.<\/em>
  \nThey might take a bite<\/em>
  \nThough not out of spite<\/em>
  \nSome just get more close than they ought’er<\/em><\/p>\n

  \u2014Josh Silberg<\/p>\n

  

  The harbor traffic can be dangerous.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Our Responsibilities<\/h4>\n

  Sea Otter Savvy founder and passionate marine biologist Gena Bentall reminds us of our nature watch responsibility. Protection is up to humans\u2014to make sure people around the sea otters are educated and respectful.<\/p>\n

  It\u2019s too easy to be too curious about these remarkable creatures and get too close to them.<\/p>\n

  If a sea otter is looking at you, you\u2019re too close, as cute as that interaction may be. Most importantly, remember that you are a guest in an amazing world.<\/p>\n

  

  Learning from a distance at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  For more information about California sea otter protection, visit Sea Otter Savvy<\/a> and The Monterey Bay Aquarium.<\/a>\u00a0Otter feedings are at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm every day at the aquarium. Sea Otter Savvy is funded in large part by the California State Coastal Conservancy, funds which state taxpayers contribute through the California Sea Otter Fund.<\/em><\/p>\n

  If you can’t travel to the California Central Coast, check out the Elkhorn Slough otter cam.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

  Sea Otter Awareness Week<\/a> is September 23\u201329. Spread the word.<\/em><\/p>\n

  Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[225,199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-travel","category-usa-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31698"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33526,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31698\/revisions\/33526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}