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Enhydra lutris kenyoni
"The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family. Their fur is made up of a dense underfur, ranging in color from brown to black, and longer guard hairs. The guard hairs can be brown to black to silver. Their hind feet are webbed to aid in swimming, and their front toes are short and stiff. Adult sea otters may grow up to 5 feet in length. The males weigh 80–100 pounds but can weigh more than 100 pounds. The females are smaller, weighing 50–70 pounds."
Resurrection Bay. "The northern sea otter subspecies (E. lutris kenyoni), is found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. Within Alaska, there are 3 stocks. The Southeast stock can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Alaska. The Southcentral population spans from west of Glacier Bay to the eastern edge of Cook Inlet. The Southwest population stretches from the western edge of Cook Inlet out the Aleutian islands."
"Within the state of Alaska, the Southeast and Southcentral stocks are stable. The Southwestern stock is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)."
Spotted on Jul 18, 2013
Submitted on Aug 4, 2013
8 Comments
Thank you Karen! I was just happy that the one we saw was close :)
Great photo! I had luck seeing them from our ship near Glacier bay. If I looked at the floating kelp, there would often be an otter or two. Love your photo.
Thank you Debbie :)
Gorgeous spotting and photos Cindy!
Cindy, I am really surprised that this cute guy was the only one you saw. Otters usually travel in big groups for added protection against predators.The ocean was full of these .They use their stomach as a tray for the fish they catch. That's how they eat,bouncing up and down on the waves.
Hi Marta and Emma, this was the only one we saw. We took a small charter boat around the Bay. If we had done any of the whale watching tours, we would have seen more.
Emma, the sea portion of our trip was Seward, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait, Ketchikan, and Vancouver
these are adorable. I took the inside passage. Vancover,ketchikan,Sitka,Juneau,Tracy Fjords.
Saw tons of these.
Did you see many in the water? I would love to see them in their own environment like that one day. I only saw them in aquariums so far :-) Very nice spottings from Alaska! Thanks for sharing!