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Project Noah Nature School
Enhydra lutris
Though an endangered species, sea otters around Kodiak seem to be thriving. Kodiak is a very special place and the wildlife seems much more abundant than in most places. If you look closely you can see that some of them are holding their rocks that they use to crack open shells
Outside the harbor in the the open water. Rafts of them can be seen around here and sometimes solitary ones show up in the little bays near town too
Spotted on Aug 15, 2016
Submitted on Dec 11, 2016
4 Comments
Thank you for the nomination!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Sea otters consume over 100 different prey species, so they are not that specialized in their diet. However, it is important to bring their population back up as they help keep the sea urchin populations in check (a growing problem right now) and they are also considered a keystone species
It is terrible to think these otters are endangered. Habitat destruction and water pollution puts these animals at great risk, especially because they are so specialized.