Sea otters can sometimes be seen off sandy beaches — and even local harbors. Predators of sea otters include sharks and killer whales. The sea otter is a marine mammal belonging to the weasel family of animals, specifically the Family Mustelidae. https://sciencing.com/do-sea-otters-protect-themselves-6718568.html Common predators of sea otters include various predatory marine mammals such as orcas and sea lions. Tips for spotting a sea otter. Sea Otters Could Get New Home in San Francisco Bay. The southern sea otter was widely believed to be extinct due to the expansive fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, which reduced the global population from between 150,000 and 300,000 to roughly 2,000. Bald eagles have been observed swooping down and grabbing sea otter pups. Northern sea otters are found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. These predators of sea urchins then proceed to crush their outer body with its powerful bit and sharp teeth. Sea otters dive or play dead when they sense danger, or may signal alarm by raising a forepaw. There … Those sea otters that live farther south, mostly hunt for a great white shark, and representatives of those sea otters that inhabit the more northern areas of the Pacific, hunt for killer whales. Due to the large size of the sea otters, there are few natural predator enemies. Sea otter. A sea otter rests on its back with its head, arms and flippers in the air, and looks like two lumps close together. Even crabs or lobsters with hard shells can be crushed with its powerful jaws. Sea otters eat sea urchins in abundance where they both occur but also prey on crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks. Then in 1914 a remnant population of about 50 southern sea otters was found along the rugged Big Sur shoreline. read more While there may not be immense numbers of sea otters, a single sea otter can eat a lot of sea urchins. The Alaskan subspecies have predators on land such as coyotes or brown bears. Sea otters are generalist predators that consume over 200 species across a spectrum of rocky and soft substrates. Recent reports of sea otter sightings have also occurred in Mexico. 6. Eagles may also grab young otters if given the opportunity. Sea urchins beware! ... Members of the fishing industry, for example, might be leery of these voracious predators. If you removed all the sea otters in that area, the sea urchins would reproduce unchecked, as they have few natural predators that can get past their spines. Sea otters, the "keystone predator" of Aleutian kelp forests, experienced dramatic population declines in the 1990's. The sea otter can usually be found in kelp beds, and looks very much like lumps of kelp. Diet analysis suggests that butter clams are their preferred prey in Southeast Alaska (La Roche 2020). 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