Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sea otters eat A LOT of food. In fact, sea otters eating is what they’re best known for—besides being extremely cute. From urchin to crab, worm and clam, octopus and abalone, sea otters eat over 100 species of marine invertebrate in the wild. And here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, our resident sea otters get to practice their hunting skills thanks to our Sea Otter Aquarists. Learn from staffer Chris and his otterly pawesome friend Selka about what sea otters eat in the first episode of our new series: Sea Otter 101!
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These charismatic critters are among the most easily observed marine mammals in the bay. They’re often spotted floating and foraging among kelp forests along the outer coves and bays but can sometimes be seen off sandy beaches—and even local harbors. Sea otters are a frequent sight off the Aquarium’s ocean-view decks and occasionally even pay a visit to our Great Tide Pool. They’re also found in Elkhorn Slough.
Sea otters play an essential role in the health of Monterey Bay’s kelp forest and estuary ecosystems. They eat sea urchins and other animals that graze on giant kelp, keeping them in check so the kelp forests can thrive and support a rich community of plants and animals. Similarly, sea otters keep estuary ecosystems healthy by eating crabs. This in turn allows sea slugs to thrive and eat algae that would otherwise coat and smother the eelgrass that fish need for food and shelter.
Sea otters once thrived from Baja California and around the Pacific Rim to Russia and Japan before fur hunters nearly exterminated them in the 1700s and 1800s. The California population has grown from a group of about 50 survivors off Big Sur in 1938 to nearly 3,000 animals today. Although their numbers have increased, sea otters still face serious risks: oil from a single tanker spill near San Francisco or off the Central Coast would threaten the entire California sea otter population. The center of the population’s range—from Monterey Bay to south of the Big Sur coast—can’t support higher numbers of sea otters, so they need to keep expanding their range to find new areas with abundant food. Bites from white sharks is a major threat to sea otters in this area.
The Aquarium partners with state, federal and academic researchers to study otters in the wild. The more we learn about sea otter behavior, biology and health, the better we can protect these threatened animals.
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