USA 2023 - Sea Otters!

 

Sea Otter - detail - Moss Landing CA

Top of my 'must see' list for the 2023 California trip were Sea Otters. The Pacific coast south of San Francisco is the best place in the world to get a view of these characterful - and endangered - mammals. And finding them could not be easier, although it took us longer than it should have done.

As described in previous blogs (here and here), our visit to Moss Landing on California's Monterey Bay started with a quick birdwatch from the quayside then a whale watching cruise out in the bay. We had seen Californian Sea Lions in (and out of) the harbour, and watched Humpback Whales - some surprisingly close inshore. All well and good, but the lack of Sea Otters was troubling me until our vessel (the Sea Goddess) returned to harbour. As we cruised between the breakwaters, I spotted my first Sea Otter in the waves (below) - image blurred due to the movement of boat and water.

Sea Otter - my first sighting - Moss Landing CA

Three Sea Otters were dotted around the harbour entrance channel in their normal laid-back floating posture. They seemed indifferent to the passage of our boat, although this one covered its eye with its paw in a world-weary gesture as we sailed by. (Apologies for getting a bit anthropomorphic, its easily done when describing such engaging creatures.) 

The boat docked and we disembarked for a walk over the harbour bridge (Sandholt Road). Right in front of us were three more Sea Otters (below) looking even more chilled than the ones at the harbour entrance.

Sea Otters from the Sandholt Road bridge - Moss Landing CA

They appeared not to be bothered about the near proximity of people taking photographs from the  bridge and nearby road. It was almost as if they know that they are protected: the Californian and Alaskan subspecies are both listed as threatened under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. 

Sea Otters in characteristically chilled pose - Moss Landing CA

Sea Otters Enhydra lutris have a wide, but fragmented, distribution on northern Pacific coastlines. The population in south and central Californian is one of three subspecies (E. l. nereis) - the others are E. l. lutris (Japan to Kamchatka) and E. l. kenyoni (Aleutians and Alaska down to Oregon). 

Sea Otters are classed as 'Endangered' by the IUCN (link to their excellent Red List website here). Populations suffered a massive decline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of fur hunting. (The next day we were able to feel a Sea Otter pelt at the Ano Nuevo State Park visitor centre - presumably obtained legally. The fur is deep, rich and warm.) World-wide, the population decreased to only 2,000 individuals by the end of the fur trade in 1911; as a result of protection, this has now risen to over 120,000 (data from the IUCN).

Although not now subject to systematic hunting, the range of the California Sea Otters is limited by 'shark-bite mortality', as the IUCN puts it. The shelter afforded by Monterey Bay's giant kelp forests has helped them to avoid shark predation, although Moss Landing is some distance from the nearest kelp forests which are concentrated near Santa Cruz in the north and Monterey in the south. (There is a useful article on kelp forests here.) I guess that Moss Landing harbour provides adequate protection from sharks in search of a Sea Otter snack. 

Sea Otter female with pup - Moss Landing CA

Further along the harbourside (across the road from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, as it happens) a Sea Otter was providing a bed for a sleeping pup (above). This was a female: males are polygynous and don’t get involved with child care. Pups are born all year round, with nursing lasting 6-8 months. Mothers leave their pups afloat when foraging for food themselves. The above picture is hardly cropped: they were very close to us.

Sea Otter - detail - Moss Landing CA

Sea Otters seem to spend a lot of time floating on their backs. This isn’t something that other sea mammals do, but Sea Otters take to it effortlessly. Sometimes their flipper-like hind legs lie flat, but more often they are raised up, creating an effect like a tiny Egyptian mummy (above). Their hind legs are more adapted for marine rather than terrestrial movement, and they are far less often seen on land than other otter species.

We were to see a few more Sea Otters offshore at Ano Nuevo State Park the following day, but none gave us as good views at those at Moss Landing. If you want to see them up close, Moss Landing is the place to come.

Road sign - Moss Landing CA

 

California Sea Otter at rest - Moss Landing CA