California
Not only are sea otters super cute — they’re said to be helping save the West Coast
Sea otters are cute – and useful
© Cavan Images / Imago Images
Sea otters are stars of the internet. But they are also very important to the ecosystem in which they live. A petition is therefore calling for the reintroduction of the animals in parts of the US west coast.
People on the internet are obsessed with cute animals. It goes without saying that many people are particularly enthusiastic about otters. After all, they hold hands so they don’t lose each other. But sea otters aren’t just cute, they’re useful too.
Now they are to be used for nothing less than saving the US West Coast. The Center for Biological Diversity is calling for the reintroduction of sea otters between California’s San Francisco Bay and the Oregon coast. The nonprofit conservation group has petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The reintroduction of the sea otter across the West Coast would be an unprecedented conservation success story, Kristin Carden, senior scientist at the center, said in a statement. Not only would the sea otters thrive, but they would also help restore vital kelp forests and seagrass ecosystems. A larger population would also make it more likely that the species would survive an oil spill or other disaster.
Sea otters eat sea urchins – this helps the ecosystem
The petition cites a feasibility study by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, in which the Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that sea otter reintroduction is a possibility along parts of the US West Coast. However, no recommendation is made as to whether such reintroduction should take place.
For the Center for Biological Diversity, the answer is a resounding yes, citing the importance of animals to the ecosystem. This mainly has to do with the diet of the sea otters. The marine mammals are very fond of eating sea urchins, thereby keeping the sea urchin population in check. The seaweed forests benefit from this. In Northern California, 95 percent of these kelp forests have disappeared due to sea urchin beds, The Guardian reports. And thus the habitat of fish, invertebrates and birds.
Sea otters could restore a balance here. As the “National Geographic” writes, the animals are therefore considered key species and ecosystem engineers. “Wherever there are otters, we find particularly healthy vegetation,” says marine ecologist Brent Hughes of Sonoma State University in California. Sea otters have an extremely important function in their ecosystem, which has already become apparent within a few decades of their reintroduction to appropriate areas. There are examples of this kind. The resettlement that is now being demanded would not be the first of its kind.
Sea otters were hunted for the fur trade
The animals were once widespread on the west coast. The endangered southern sea otter now inhabits only 13 percent of its historical range, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. For a long time, humans had their eye on the fur of marine mammals. Sea otters have been hunted for the fur trade since the mid-18th century. At the beginning of the 20th century they were almost extinct. Today, the animals are threatened by oil spills, low genetic diversity, disease, shark bites and climate change.
Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Guardians, alpha knowledge, Center for Biological Diversity, National Geographic