Sea otters are really cute animals and it is estimated that the worldwide population of sea otters once numbered between several hundred thousand to over one million before being nearly hunted to extinction by fur traders in the 1700s and 1800s. Sea otters finally gained protections with the signing of the International Fur Seal Treaty of 1911, and became listed under the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species Acts in the 1970s. Worldwide, numbers have slowly recovered but still stand far below original population numbers. While sea otters are vulnerable to natural predators, their populations are significantly impacted by several human factors as well.

Did you know?

Sea otters have incredibly fast metabolisms; a 60-pound adult sea otter eats at least 15 pounds of food (25% of its body weight) each and every day. That’s the same as an average teenager eating 120 hamburgers.

Sea Otter Education Resources

• Sea otter spotting in California
• Sea otter project
• California sea otter research
• The Marine Mammal Center
• Monterey Bay Aqarium
• Sea otter live cam

And Pacific Beach Coalition’s teacher tool kit.