Endearing & Endangered

Endearing and Endangered. SLO Coast Byway. , Sea otters are as clever as they are cute, using nimble paws and retractable claws to catch snails, pick up slugs, and dig in the mud for worms. Powered by big webbed feet and steering with their muscular tails, otters move rocks and use shells and other tools to help them pry their prey out of crevices. A pocket in the fur under each arm holds both dinner and the otter's favorite rock. , Watch closely, and you might see a sea otter floating on her back, her rock balanced on her belly, pounding her catch against the rock with both paws until its shell cracks open., A sea otter's coat is thicker than the fur of any other animal on Earth, keeping its skin dry and its body warm. Newborn otters are fluffed and groomed for hours by their mothers, who blow air into their pup's fur until the baby floats like a cork - warm, dry, and unable to sink and drown., This luxurious fur was highly coveted. Between 1760 and 1900, a million sea otters were killed for their coats, almost wiping out the species. The sea otters who live in Morro Bay are all descended from a group of 50 who survived the slaughter and were found in Big Sur in 1938., Today, fewer than 3,000 southern sea otters live off the coast of California. Sea otters are now protected, but they remain endangered. Pollution, predation by sharks, and competition for food depresses their numbers. Only about a quarter of sea otter pups survive to adulthood., (captions:), ·Twins are rare. Usually only one pup lives, or another otter may foster one of the pups., ·Sea otters are called a 'keystone species' because without them, sea urchins overpopulate and destroy the kelp forest ecosystem. Healthy kelp forests serve as nurseries and shelter for fish and many other species. Sea otters are important to the marine environment., ·Sea otter mothers are devoted - cradling their pups, nursing and grooming for hours. Mothers teach the pups to hunt, but continue to nurse until her baby is as large as she., ·Sea otters can walk on land but prefer living in the ocean. They wrap themselves or their pups with seaweed or hold paws with a friend to avoid drifting away during an midday nap., ·A group of sea otters is called a raft. Here, two females are anchored with seaweed and each holds a pup. Wild otters can live 20 years, and California otters usually breed every year.