As top predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of nearshore ecosystems, such as kelp forests, embayments and estuaries. The sea otters get covered from head to tail in oil which permeates into their coat that disrupts the insulation. Distribution - Naturally occurring from the Aleutian Islands to Alaska, the sea otter has been transplanted to the southern part of Canada's Pacific coast. The sea otter was placed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 and is now listed on CITES Appendix I and II. The otters play an important role in controlling sea urchin populations, which would otherwise damage the kelp forest ecosystem. Another endangered sea otter species is known as the european otter, also known as eurasian river otter, common otter, and old world otter. Sea otters are a keystone species, meaning their role in their environment has a greater effect than other species. Sea Otters in California and Western Alaska are listed federally under the United States Sea otters are listed as an endangered species because they are vulnerable to oil spills from ships and coastal tanker traffic. This species of sea otter is actually native to the Eurasia. Sea otters usually have a … Today the species is protected under the Endangered Species Act & Marine Mammal Protection Act. Biology - The sea otter feeds on clams, sea urchins, abalone, crabs, mussels, starfish and fish. The Southern Sea Otter & Southwest Stock of Northern Sea Otters in Alaska are both listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The Sea Otter has been assigned Endangered status by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (cosewic), and receives legal protec-tion as a marine mammal under the Canada Fisheries Act. Sea Otter off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Canada was missing its smallest marine animal until 1969, when 89 Alaskan sea otters were relocated to Checleset Bay, off northwest Vancouver Island. By 1900, sea otters were on the verge of extinction; the last documented sighting in British Columbia was in 1929. An adult North American river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg (11.0 and 30.9 lb). Protection has permitted them to increase and reoccupy much of their former range. They are one of the few animals known to use tools – they use small rocks to open shellfish. Sea otters spend a lot of their time floating on their backs—they rest, groom and eat in this position. An international treaty (1911) gave protection to the endangered sea otters, and by the late 1960s the Alaskan population had grown to about 30,000. This species of sea otter can grow and reach the number of 95 cm in length for its body and 35 cm in length for its tail. Fish and Wildlife Service, sea otters have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1977. They use their flat, webbed hind feet to swim and have been known to swim up to 5mph. WWF-Canada works to save a growing number of threatened and endangered species. Between 1969 and 1972, 89 sea otters from Amchitka and Prince William Sound, Alaska, were translocated to Checleset Bay on the west coast of Vancouver Island. When diving, their nostrils and ears close and their OCEANWALKERS Sea Otters live in coastal waters & estuaries. Recent population surveys (2001 to 2004) indicate the Canadian sea otter population includes a The Sea Otter was hunted to near extinction in the 19th century. The IUCN Red List has listed sea otters as an endangered species since 2000 and their current population status is decreasing. Known as a keystone species, sea otters have a greater effect on their environment than other organisms within that system. Sea otters live and play in the waters off the Pacific coast. ever sea otters and commercial and subsistence invertebrate fisheries exist in California, Alaska, and British Columbia. European otter. Sea otters in southeast Alaska are not listed as threatened or endangered, but the agency cannot intervene to protect commercial fisheries until a species is at "optimum sustainable population." The following table is a non-exhaustive list of aquatic species at risk found in Canadian waters. According to the U.S. During the late 1700s and 1800s, the sea otter was heavily hunted on the Pacific coast. The sea otter has increased its population by "an average of well over 100 per cent" in the past 50 years, according to the WWF's report released Tuesday, but remains at risk of extinction. A few survived in Alaska and California. 2. However, 89 sea otters were reintroduced to the coast of BC from 1969-1972. The Southern Sea Otter & Southwest Stock of Northern Sea Otters in Alaska are both listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. THe endangered sea otter. As of 2020, the sea otter is considered Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In Canada, endangered or extinct animals are divided into four categories: Extirpated Endangered By 1850, sea otters in Canada were considered commercially extinct. Existing protection In Canada sea otters were federally listed as Threatened in 2003 and under the Species at Risk Act are protected from killing, harming, capturing, and harassing. These are the words of WWF Canada, an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 and dedicated to protecting the environment. Learn more about species at risk and what WWF is doing to help them. The last verified sea otter in Canada was shot near Kyuquot, British Columbia (BC), in 1929. Hunters sold as many as 1,200 pelts per year. Ranging from climate change, to oil spills, to pollution there are many threats that have hindered sea otters from being more prosperous and being upgraded from endangered to threatened. Other Endangered Species Of Canada. Sea otters are the smallest species of marine mammal, and one of the most vulnerable endangered species in North America. Everything from sea otters to leatherback turtles, from whooping cranes to wood bison are at risk” [wwf.ca]. River otters do not. When they try to groom their fur by licking, they ingest the poisonous oil and die of toxicity. In response to this, the Canadian Sea Otter Recovery Team formed an oil response plan specifically for the sea otter, and implemented it in 2004 (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2013). The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. 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