SOUTHERN SEA OTTER 



Enhydra lutris nereis [Merriam] 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Mammalia 



ORDER Carnivora 



FAMILY Mustelidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES California sea otter 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS To be determined 



Updates 1 November 1978 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal Threatened (42 FR 2965, 14 Jan 1977) 

 States Fully protected: California 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



The southern sea otter is the southernmost 

 form of a marine mammal that originally ex- 

 tended along the rim of the Pacific Ocean from 

 the northern islands of Japan to Baja California. 

 Originally estimated to number from 16,000 to 

 10,000 off the California coast, the species was 

 heavily hunted for its valuable fur by Russian, 

 Indian, Spanish, British, and American traders. By 

 1911, the California population was reduced to 

 an estimated 50 animals. Following protection 

 afforded by the International Fur Seal Treaty of 

 1911 and by the State of California in 1913, the 

 population began to recover. A survey conducted 

 by the California Department of Fish and Game 

 in 1976 estimated the population at about 1,860 

 individuals located along a 257-km span of coast- 

 line (Woodhouse et al. 1977). The population 

 now (1978) occurs 2dong about 320 km of coast- 

 line. Considering that there are oil depots at both 

 ends of the current range (Moss Landing and 

 Morro Bay) and increased tanker traffic offshore. 



