[177] An estimated 1,200 sea otters live within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and more than 500 live within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. [88] Similarly, forced copulation by sea otters involving animals other than Pacific harbor seals has occasionally been reported. [196] Milo, the darker one, died of lymphoma in January 2012[197], species of marine mammal from the northern and eastern coasts of the North Pacific Ocean, At least one female is known to have died from an infected nose. [116] Historical records revealed the Russian-American Company sneaked Aleuts into San Francisco Bay multiple times, despite the Spanish capturing or shooting them while hunting sea otters in the estuaries of San Jose, San Mateo, San Bruno and around Angel Island. Both items are on display at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg. Feast or die. [161], Other nations joined in the hunt in the south. The Russians found the sea otter far more valuable than the sable skins that had driven and paid for most of their expansion across Siberia. Observations of the Bering Expedition of 1741–1742 and other voyages of exploration in the North Pacific found sea otters to be abundant throughout their range, and commercial harvest of sea otters for pelts began soon after. Surprisingly, though, the diets of individuals were more specialized in these areas than in areas where food was plentiful. [162] [12] The full genome of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) was sequenced in 2017 and may allow for examination of the sea otter's evolutionary divergence from terrestrial mustelids. [16], During the 20th century, sea otter numbers rebounded in about two-thirds of their historic range, a recovery considered one of the greatest successes in marine conservation. [98] Growth has slowed slightly, suggesting the numbers are reaching carrying capacity. Sea otters have a high metabolic rate (that is, they use a high amount of energy) that is 2-3 times that of other mammals their size. [6] Genetic analysis indicates the sea otter and its closest extant relatives, which include the African speckle-throated otter, European otter, African clawless otter and oriental small-clawed otter, shared an ancestor approximately 5 million years ago. [24] Releasing an abalone, which can cling to rock with a force equal to 4,000 times its own body weight, requires multiple dives. The digits cannot act individually as they are connected by soft tissue webbing. [32] The fifth digit on each hind foot is longest, facilitating swimming while on its back, but making walking difficult. The sea otter accomplishes this through a metabolic rate 2.4–3.2 times higher than predicted in a terrestrial mammal of similar size. [16], Nursing lasts six to eight months in Californian populations and four to twelve months in Alaska, with the mother beginning to offer bits of prey at one to two months. [56] Juveniles are typically independent at six to eight months, but a mother may be forced to abandon a pup if she cannot find enough food for it;[77] at the other extreme, a pup may nurse until it is almost adult size. [166] Prices rose as the species became rare. [180], The debate is complicated because sea otters have sometimes been held responsible for declines of shellfish stocks that were more likely caused by overfishing, disease, pollution, and seismic activity. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123744739004343, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128014028000019, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043271001321, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128014028000147, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012373553900064X, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781416040477500440, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123847195001878, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123735539000651, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128014028000056, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Second Edition), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Third Edition), Synopsis of the History of Sea Otter Conservation in the United States, Early in the twentieth century, resource agency personnel in California began observing a small surviving group of, Kathleen M. Dudzinski, ... Justin D. Gregg, in, Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine (Sixth Edition), Glenn R. Van Blaricom, ... Robert L. Brownell, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition), Éva E. Plagányi, Douglas S. Butterworth, in. [16] Originally named Lutra marina, it underwent numerous name changes before being accepted as Enhydra lutris in 1922. Kathleen M. Dudzinski, ... Justin D. Gregg, in Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 2009. [33] The tail is fairly short, thick, slightly flattened, and muscular. [35], The sea otter propels itself underwater by moving the rear end of its body, including its tail and hind feet, up and down,[32] and is capable of speeds of up to 9 km/h (5.6 mph). [170] Describing the public sympathy for sea otters that developed from media coverage of the event, a U.S. [156] In 1741, on his second North Pacific voyage, Bering was shipwrecked off Bering Island in the Commander Islands, where he and many of his crew died. A remnant population survived off Vancouver Island into the 20th century, but it died out despite the 1911 international protection treaty, with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. [3][68], Births occur year-round, with peaks between May and June in northern populations and between January and March in southern populations. [98] By 2004, sea otters had repopulated all of their former habitat in these areas, with an estimated total population of about 27,000. [63] Males that do not have territories tend to congregate in large, male-only groups,[63] and swim through female areas when searching for a mate. Northern sea otters possess longer mandibles (lower jaws) while southern sea otters have longer rostrums and smaller teeth. Archaeological evidence indicates that for thousands of years, indigenous peoples have hunted sea otters for food and fur. Cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited. [100] By 2013, this population exceeded 1,100 individuals, was increasing at an estimated 12.6% annual rate, and its range included Aristazabal Island, and Milbanke Sound south to Calvert Island. [175] The Toxoplasma gondii parasite, which is often fatal to sea otters, is carried by wild and domestic cats and may be transmitted by domestic cat droppings flushed into the ocean via sewage systems. Several risk factors are known for sea otters in California. [62], A male sea otter is most likely to mate if he maintains a breeding territory in an area that is also favored by females. Today's population of California sea otters are the descendants of a single colony of about 50 sea otters located near Bixby Creek Bridge in March 1938 by Howard G. Sharpe, owner of the nearby Rainbow Lodge on Bixby Bridge in Big Sur. They also argue that people co-existed with sea otters and the nearshore environment prior to contact with Europeans, and that the indigenous people effectively managed sea otter populations to maintain an optimal balance of nearshore apex predators and shellfish resources (Chapter 11).
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