USGS and NASA Collaborate to Develop New High-Tech Flipper Tag to Study Social Networks of Sea Otters

by USGS | Feb 23, 2018 | sea otters

In the Future of Wildlife Tracking, Sea Otters Have Their Own Social Network Whereas we might carry cell phones or tablets, each sea otter has a small, solar-powered tag clipped carefully to one of its flippers. When the sea otters gather to nap at the ocean’s...

California Sea Otter Numbers Decline, Hurdles for Population Recovery Remain

by USGS | Sep 30, 2017 | sea otters

Abstract: The 2017 census of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) was conducted between late April and early July along the mainland coast of central California and in April at San Nicolas Island in southern California. The 3-year average of combined counts...

2016 Sea Otter Survey Results Encouraging, But Hurdles For Population Recovery Remain

by USGS | Sep 19, 2016 | sea otters

SANTA CRUZ, California — The southern sea otter, Enhydra lutris nereis, continues its climb toward recovery, according to the annual count released today by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners. For the first time, southern sea otters’ numbers have exceeded 3,090,...

Numbers Encouraging, but Shark Bites Still Problematic for Sea Otter Recovery

by USGS | Sep 22, 2015 | sea otters

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The recovery of southern sea otters appears to have taken an upturn, according to results from the annual California sea otter survey released by the U.S. Geological Survey today. Yet despite an overall increase in sea otter abundance, sharks have...

Increasing White Shark Bites Now Leading Cause of Sea Otter Mortality in California

by USGS | Aug 14, 2015 | sea otters

Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) are not considered prey for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), but in California, sea otter carcasses have been increasingly observed with shark bite wounds over the past decade. USGS and California Department of Fish...