Sometimes Lunch Doesn't Agree with You!

Sea Otter

The sea otter is a marine mammal in the weasel family. They are also on the endangered species list. At one time there was an estimated population of 200,000 to 300,000 sea otters living along the Pacific coast of North America. In the 1700's through to the early 1900's they were extensively hunted for their fur and by 1911 there was only about 1000 to 2000 left in the world. Thankfully conservation efforts, as well as an international ban on hunting has allowed the sea otter populations to rebound but loss of habitat and competition with humans for food are still a concern for those who wish to preserve this wonderful species.

My World: Moss Landing

For many years Michelle and I would take a vacation every January or February. This worked out great because I would chose a destination that had a lot of wildlife for me to photograph and some where warm to make Michelle happy. So we made many trips to Florida and California and also visited south Texas and Hawaii.

When we travel to California our favorite place to stay is down in Monterey Bay. We usually stay at the Best Western Beach Dunes Inn, not the fanciest hotel but it is affordable and right on the beach, in Marina, Ca. From this central location we can head south to Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur, or go north to Elkhorn Slough or Moss Landing.

Moss Landing is a little harbor town near the middle of Monterey Bay. We first explored the area while waiting for a tour ship, that we were taking through Elkhorn Slough, to depart.

We found a lot of cool things in the area to photograph, like the California sea lions that liked to sun them selves on boats, docks, dingies, and the breakwaters.

The breakwaters also provided an excellent nesting habitat for Brandt's cormorants, a Pacific species of cormorant that we never see in Minnesota.

Swimming around in the harbor water you can often catch a glimpse of a harbor seal. Notice that the seal has no ears. That is one of the primary differences that distinguishes seals from sea lions.

There is usually a few coastal birds hanging around the harbor, like this surf scoter. Surf scoters bread up on lakes in Alaska and northern Canada but they typically spend their winters along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts here in the US.

Like many types of ducks the female surf scoter is not as colorful as the male.

When we visited in 2007 we were lucky to see a lot of sea otters in the Moss landing harbor and beach area. While I was carefully walking out the breakwater, that keeps the larger waves from hitting the beach, I spotted this sea otter diving in the water.

I was pleasantly surprised to see him come up with a large crab. The main diet of sea otters is clams, crabs, snails, mussels, sea urchins and other marine species.

You can sea that this crab was not going down with out a fight. The sea otter has to hold on tight to the elusive crab while trying to keep out of range of the wicked claws. If the otter were to grab a leg instead of holding on to the shell the crab would shed the leg and attempt to escape and then it would grow the leg back again later.

However sea otters are very dexterous. They are the only marine mammal that will catch fish with their forepaws instead of their teeth. They are also fairly intelligent, they will often use tools, such as rocks, to break open hard shells. On this occasion however the otter used his incisor teeth to access the meat. This is a good thing, at least for the otter, as they frequently eat up to 25% of their weight in food each day.

Watery Wednesday: Sea Otter

This week for Watery Wednesday I have some really cute sea otter pictures to share.

These pictures were taken at Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough, in central California, back in February of 2008. This was our second trip into the Monterrey Bay area of California and we have been fortunate to photograph sea otters on both trips, although there were a lot more of them in 2007.

Sea Otters are the largest member of the weasel family, with adults averaging 5 feet in length. They have the finest fur of any mammal, with up to about 1 million hairs per square inch. Their thick fur is needed to keep them warm as they spend most of their lives in the water, which can get very cold.

Sea otters spend most of their time floating on their backs, they eat, sleep, groom, and nurse their young while floating on their backs. Since they are social creatures they will often float together in groups, that can number over 100, which are called rafts. They are also fairly intelligent and are often seen using tools, like a rock or a bottle, to open up a hard shelled crustation.

Sea otters eat mainly sea dwelling invertebrates like clams, crabs, mussels and urchins as well as fish. Most of these are found on the ocean floor which means that the otter has to sometimes dive up to 250 feet to find its prey. Their front claws are retractable, making it easier to catch their prey. An adult will often eat 25 to 30 percent of their body weight in food each day to help them keep warm in their cold watery home.