The sea otter is the heaviest (the giant otter is longer, but significantly slimmer) member of the family Mustelidae, a diverse group that includes the 13 otter species and terrestrial animals such as weasels, badgers, and minks. When Behavior/Reproduction She is of average height in stature and has dark gray eyes. Adult sea otters may eat as much as 9 kg (20 lbs.) Scientific names. OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR. approximately 200 sea otters dying between recent counts. Distribution: The northern sea otter subspecies (E. lutris kenyoni), is found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. This is the species known as the sea otter. They characteristically dive to the bottom of the Most people are familiar with animals that live in the ocean but come onto land, such as seals, sea lions, sea otters, penguins, and puffins. The fur of the sea otter is more dense than that of any other and now has been once again on the decline. ), and female California sea otters weigh on average 20 kg (44 lbs.) dense fur allows the sea Otter to keep warm in the cold waters of The survivors were scattered among small colonies in remote areas of Russia, Alaska, British Columbia, and central California. We observed it's most southern population on the coast of Instead, Facts about Sea Otter, "Scientific name for Sea Otter is Enhydra lutris". The northern sea otter is endemic to the Eastern Pacific between the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and Oregon. It is unique among the mustelids in not making dens or burrows, in having no functional anal scent glands, and in being able to live its entire life without leaving the water. Conservation hairs per square inch! Population levels in the Southcentral stock have now stabilized and are estimated to be around 15,000 animals. The Fur Trade Sea otters were hunte… Two sea otter subspecies occur in the United States, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) and the northern sea otter (E.l. kenyoni). Scientific Name: Lontra canadensis. Description. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are an easily recognized and beloved marine mammal. U.S. FWS Stock Assessment Reports – Sea Otters, USGS Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research Program, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Northern Sea Otter species page, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Sea Otter page, Marine Mammal Commission: An Independent Agency of the U.S. Government, Provisions for Managing Fisheries Interactions. One theory for the observed population declines is an increase in predation by killer whales. The playful North American river otter is equally at home in the water and on land. lutris, which means "otter that lives in the water". The Southeast stock can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Alaska. Sea otters belong to the weasel family, Mustelidae, which they share Sea otters are suited to their marine environment by adaptations of dentition, skeletal structure, and pelage. The sea otter is the only member of this genus. Northern sea otter. Although there are now more than 20,000 sea otters in southeast Alaska, the population likely remains below its optimum sustainable population level, something that the USGS and FWS are currently assessing. Before commercial hunting began in the mid-1700s, an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 sea otters occurred in coastal waters throughout the rim of the North Pacific Ocean from northern Japan to Baja California, Mexico. Photo taken under U.S. FWS permit #MA-043219. The range of these mammals extends from Peru to the southern part of Cape Horn, and in Argentina, on the coast of the Tierra del Fuego. They have furry bodies, whiskered faces, and a propensity to lay on their backs and float on the water, a behavior that humans perceive as evidence of fun-loving. Since the prohibition on commercial hunting in 1911, sea otters have recolonized or have been reintroduced into much of their historic range. By the time the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was enacted in 1972, remnant groups in Alaska had grown considerably and, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, several hundred otters were moved from Amchitka Island and Prince William Sound to try to reestablish populations in southeast Alaska and the outer coasts of Washington and Oregon. 49 terms. Without blubber, sea otters rely on thick, waterproof fur. Didelphimorphia. The rise and fall of primarily feed on mollusks and crustaceans. The U.S. find a decline in the main food sources for the otters. The only member of the genus Enhydra, the sea otter is so different from other mustelid species that, as recentl… By then, only a few thousand otters remained. ocean and pick up a mollusk and a rock. from maintaining the necessary insulating air pockets. They are native to the northern coastlines of the Pacific Ocean, from northern Japan to Baja, Mexico. Ongoing conservation efforts are directed at monitoring changes in abundance and distribution of northern sea otters and trying to ascertain the causes of declines in southwestern Alaska. Letter to FWS regarding an incidental take authorization for oil and gas activities in Cook Inlet, Letter to FWS regarding a draft stock assessment report for three stocks of Northern sea otters in Alaska, Letter to FWS regarding request for comments on the interpretation of specific terms as they pertain to Alaska natives’ taking of sea otters. bodies were very thin when discovered. AFS Mammals of the World Orders 2018. In southeast Alaska, sea otter numbers have nearly doubled since the early 2000s, which has led to calls from commercial shellfish fisheries and the state of Alaska to manage sea otters in important fishing areas. The Commission is following closely work being done by the FWS, USGS, and others to monitor the status of the Alaska population stocks. Sea otters. Adults The Southcentral and Southeast Alaska stocks continue to grow or have stabilized and are not listed under the ESA. In 1911, hunting was prohibited under the terms of an international treaty for the protection of North Pacific fur seals and sea otters signed by the United States, Japan, Great Britain (for Canada), and Russia. chosen by a given sea otter is strongly influenced by what he was In contrast, sea otters in the Kodiak Archipelago do not appear to have experienced any significant decline over the past 20 years. Kingdom: Animalia Some The Northern river otter is the largest river otter in North America and Canada. 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