The world’s cutest furry sea creature, the California sea otter, has been making a slow recovery since it was nearly wiped off the map by 150 years of hunting for it’s ultra-soft, waterproof fur. But despite being federally protected, the creature’s numbers are going down again, and no one is sure why.
Annual surveys of the California sea otter population, which are averaged over three years to compensate for variability in observation conditions, show the overall population has declined by nearly 4 percent compared to estimates in 2009, and the number of sea otter pups has declined by 11 percent. The otter’s range along the central California coastline has also shrunk by nearly 30 miles.
“Right now we don’t know the specific causes of the decline,” said biologist Tim Tinker of the U.S. Geological Survey, lead scientist of the annual otter survey. “All our data point to a combination of factors, both natural and human caused.”
The sea otters have been getting thinner and smaller relative to otters of the same age and sex in past years, says Tinker, which means they are having a harder time finding food. The number of shark attacks has also gone up, as have the number of bacterial and viral infections found in the otters.
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