Endangered Species in Santa Cruz County - Mammals

Southern Sea Otter

Scientific Name: Enhydra lutris nereis

Status: T

Southern sea otters are marine mammals with a thick pelt, mainly reddish, dark brown, or black; the head whitish in older individuals, especially males. Sea otters have tails which are thick and relatively long, often representing about 1/4 of the animal's body length. Hind feet flattened and webbed with vestigial leathery foot pads. The front feet relatively small and round. Compared to other sea otters, this species has a shorter and narrower skull, longer nose and smaller teeth.

Diet consists primarily of invertebrates such as sea urchins, crabs, and a variety of mollusks; fish are important food items where there is high population density. Sea otters forage at depths less than 20 m. They often use rocks or other hard objects as tools to break the exoskeletons of invertebrate prey.

Habitat: Temperate coastal waters within 2 km of shore, especially shallows with kelp beds and abundant shellfish. In rough weather, sea otters take refuge among kelp, or in coves and inlets; they rarely come ashore.

Threats: commercial fisheries and tanker traffic that could result in oil spills; also, infectious diseases and parasites have been identified as causing significant mortality.

To Learn More:

• Animal Diversity Web
  Brief, easy-to-read summaries (most with photos) describing habitat,, geographic range, behavior, food and current conservation status.
• CalPhotos - University of CA, Berkeley
  Browseable photographs of the species.
• NatureServe Explorer
  Enter species name in the search box to access a detailed description of habitat, behavior, food, current conservation status, ecological and distribution data, with citations to relevant management reports.
• Santa Cruz Public Libraries - Local Resources
  Search SCPLs online catalog for local documents and other information about this species.
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
  Documents describing protection for this species under the Endangered Species Act. General information about the species as well as plans to protect it and assist in its recovery.

Last updated by lorenzop on May 22, 2008