The Sea Otter

A science journalist's journey along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters--the appealing species unique to this coastline that was hunted to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries. These adorable, furry marine mammals--often seen floating on their backs holding hands--reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur during the 1700s and 1800s, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sealife. When otters disappear, sea urchins take over, and the kelp disappears along with all of the creatures that live in the beds. Now, thanks to their protected status, sea otters are making a comeback in California, Washington, and Alaska.

More than 300 kinds of North American animals are listed as endangered or threatened -- at risk of dying out. These books present the stories of some of these animals and the efforts being made to save them.

Follow a year in the life of an adorable sea otter as she creatively hunts for food, deftly avoids danger from a great white shark, and gives birth to a pup. Living off the coast of California in the Northern Pacific Ocean, Lutris the sea otter shares her life in a giant kelp forest habitat with many other otters and animals. Lutris is resourceful and relies on her keen sense of sight and smell to find food and survive. When her pup is born, Lutris lovingly tends to and teaches her daughter until she is ready to head out into the world on her own. Filled with important facts and gorgeous illustrations, readers will be fascinated by the story of these remarkable mammals. This latest title in the Secret Life series has been vetted by a sea otter expert and includes back matter with more in-depth information, a glossary, and further resources.

Lounging atop a kelp bed, cradling a pup, or plucking morsels from a prickly urchin, sea otters are endearing creatures. SEA OTTERS captures them at their best, tracing their life cycle and behavior, and describing their brush with extinction. Including where to see them in the wild, this book is one of the most charming and complete on the subject. Color photos throughout.

Sea Otter Pup spends the first months of his life with his mother in a protected cove off the California coast, learning how to hunt for food and care for himself, before venturing out into the dangers of the Pacific Ocean.

2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title More than any other nonhuman species, it was the sea otter that defined the world’s largest oceanscape prior to the California gold rush. In addition to the more conventional aspects of the sea otter trade, including Russian expansion in Alaska, British and American trading in the Pacific Northwest, and Spanish colonial ventures along the California coast, the global importance of the species can be seen in its impact on the East Asian maritime fur trade. This trade linked Imperial China, Japan, and indigenous Ainu peoples of the Kurile Islands as early as the fifteenth century. In Sea Otters: A History Richard Ravalli synthesizes anew the sea otter’s complex history of interaction with humans by drawing on new histories of the species that consider international and global factors beyond the fur trade, including sea mammal conservation, Cold War nuclear testing, and environmental tourism. Examining sea otters in a Pacific World context, Ravalli weaves together the story of imperial ambition, greed, and an iconic sea mammal that left a determinative imprint on the modern world.

Sea otters are perhaps the cutest animals in the ocean. Readers will agree when they set their eyes on photographs of these fascinating mammals trying to survive in the icy waters of the North Pacific Ocean. These friendly animals have the densest fur in the world, an adaptation that both helps them keep warm yet hurts them as fur traders overhunted them. Today, the sea otter population is fighting for its life. Readers will find out what people are doing to help them.