Why otters are endangered

Under state law, southern sea otters are "fully protected" mammals. 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 Sea otter counts are conducted annually by the U. Geological Survey. The latest census and stranding information is available at www.

Southern sea otters are among the smallest of marine mammals, with adult females and males averaging 46 and 64 pounds, respectively. Unlike most other marine mammals, they have little subcutaneous fat, relying instead on their clean, dense, water resistant fur for insulation against the cold.

Contamination of their fur by oily substances can destroy its insulating properties and lead to hypothermia and death. Sea otters also maintain a high level of internal heat production to compensate for their lack of blubber. As a result, their energetic requirements are high, and they consume an amount of food equivalent to about 25 percent of their body mass per day.

Depending on factors such as habitat, sex, reproductive status, and per-capita prey availability, obtaining this quantity of food requires that sea otters spend percent of the day foraging.

Mating and pupping occur throughout the year, but on average across the range, a peak period of pupping occurs from October to January, with a secondary peak in March and April. 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.

Because of their consumption of large quantities of marine invertebrates, sea otters play a significant role in nearshore marine ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean, enhancing not only kelp forests but also seagrass beds. Sea otters are generally considered to be a keystone species in these communities. Keystone species are organisms that have large-scale community effects disproportionate to their abundance.

Kelp forests provide numerous direct and indirect benefits, including habitat for hundreds of invertebrate and fish species, reductions in coastal erosion, and carbon storage that can moderate climate change.

Seagrasses also provide important benefits, such as nursery habitat for many other species, shoreline protection, and carbon sequestration. The primary factors limiting population growth and range expansion of southern sea otters in recent years have been density-dependent resource limitation where the number of sea otters is in equilibrium with available prey in much of the central portion of the mainland range and white shark attacks in the northern and southern portions of the mainland range.

A severe drought in Kenya is putting giraffes, zebras and other animals at extreme risk. Can you help get water and food to these starving animals? Find out more here or donate to help the grazing wildlife here. Otters are restless, playful and secretive mammals that spend most of their time along riverbanks. They have stocky legs, a long, streamlined body, and a broad muzzle with prominent, sensitive whiskers.

They are perfectly adapted to a semi-aquatic life. Their webbed feet and long, muscular tail enable them to swim comfortably at about one metre per second and they will dive to catch small fish or to avoid danger. Otters can see as well under water as they can above it, allowing them to hunt for fish.

From a distance, they can be confused with mink, particularly as they are found in similar habitats, but otters are much larger and when they swim, they do so with just their head showing above the water, while mink swim with their heads and backs exposed.

Recently, on our way to the park, one of our main giant otter study areas, we visited the community and attended its weekly assembly meeting. We seized the opportunity to present the community leaders with a pair of newly purchased binoculars and a Birds of Peru guide.

The Isla de los Valles community, composed of people from both Matsigenka and Yine ethnicities, has recently decided to set aside hectares of its land bordering Manu National Park for nature tourism and protection. Prior to this, the lake, the first of two dozen oxbows flanking the Manu River, did not have protected status and was frequented by loggers and hunters.

The tourism operation currently includes a wooden catamaran and charges a small fee for visitors. We will participate by helping monitor the resident giant otter group and the bird community within the lake. We hope this is the start of a fruitful collaboration. The problem Illegal gold mining activities and deforestation are severely affecting the habitat of giant otters in the Peruvian amazon.

Updates Supporting local ecotourism initiatives to advance Amazon lake conservation efforts By Adi Barocas The Peru giant otter project has established a collaboration with the indigenous community of Isla de los Valles, which is strategically placed at the gates of Manu National Park.