Thursday, July 12, 2018

MORE SEA OTTERS FROM OUR ALASKA TRIP

These are the sea otters we found in Seward, Alaska.  They were floating in the marina, a family of four.  I posted about them here.  If you scroll down that page you will see them.
The first Sea Otters were discovered by Georg Steller in 1751.  Steller was a botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer who worked in Russia, and who is considered a pioneer of Alaskan natural history.
Weighing as much as 99 lbs., the sea otter is the heaviest member of the weasel family.
Sea Otters are polygamous.  While mothers and pups are usually solitary, Sea Otters can form groups of up to a dozen. A group of up to 2,000 is the largest ever recorded.
Sea Otters can live their entire lives without leaving the water.
While extremely agile they are slow swimmers.  They spend the majority of their lives on their backs, flipping over onto their fronts when greater speed is required.  To swim faster they use their webbed feet for propulsion, and undulate their bodies.
Sea Otters were brought close to extinction in the 19th century, widely hunted for their fur.  This was stopped by the International Fur and Seal Treaty in 1911.  Populations in Canada and California are doing well.
They were reintroduced in the 1960's.  403 Sea Otters were transplanted to six sites, mainly on the outer coast of Alaska.  The population is now estimated at about 25,000 and ranges continuously along the outer coast of Southeast Alaska, and interior areas including Glacier Bay.  The Glacier Bay population is particularly interesting because it grew from five animals in 1995 to over 8,000 in 2012.  Such a dramatic increase is likely from both births and a movement of animals into Glacier Bay.

Always fascinating to read these things.  Unfortunately the link I found all this information is no longer available.




33 comments:

  1. Very educational post, Denise. Otters fascinated me when I saw them. It was something about their faces that made me adore them.

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    1. Thank you Valerie. I agree with everything you say.

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  2. Fabulous photos and I just love the way they spend so much time on their backs. Thanks for all the info, glad they are back from near extinction. Have a good day Diane

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    1. Thank you Diane, they are incredibly cute. Have a good day too :)

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  3. Hello, they are cute critters. Love their adorable faces. Great closeups and photos. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!

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  4. Such adorable little creatures, Denise. Your photos show their personality very well. I was not aware they spent most of their lives in the water--how interesting! Thank you for sharing their uniqueness. ♥

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    1. Thank you Martha Ellen. I can always see theIr personalities. You are very welcome :)

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  5. You already know that I'm intrigued by trivia, so I really enjoy this. These guys look like they are smiling and having so much fun in that water! Such great pics! Hugs...RO

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  6. Thanx for your comment on my Blog. The subject of a new conversation.

    God bless.

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  7. Sea otters are very interesting to watch. I've seen them on shore.

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    1. That they are. I have never been able to get this close to those I have seen from shore.

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  8. Gorgeous photos, thanks for the info too.

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  9. i enjoyed the fun facts - so many things i did not know. they have the cutest faces, you got some really awesome pictures!!

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  10. They are cute!

    I've never seen one in the wild, only their smaller cousins the river otter, which tends to divide its time between water and land.

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    1. I agree, very cute. I would love to see river otters in the wild.

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  11. Thanks for all the information, Denise, as it's great to learn something new every day. Also, the photos are really fantastic...such cute expressions!

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  12. I love all these facts about the otters! They are so adorable, what cute faces they have. I think my favorite is the third picture; just look at that face! I know that the families are very close, and have warning calls. They love to play, too. Gosh, I had no idea they can weigh so much!! They don't look like it.

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    1. So happy you enjoyed them Ginny. I loved learning about them too.

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  13. Dears! Their river otter cousins live here - just saw my first!

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  14. Help I am smiling and I can't stop... they are ADORABLE...

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  15. Hi Denise,
    Super interesting post with all the facts supplies.
    I must admit I never realised they could weigh as much as they do.
    They always look to very peaceful creatures as they lay about in the sea.
    I have seen river Otters in Scotland but they are nothing like in size and weight.
    All the best, John

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