The sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction by the 1900s. By the time the International Fur Seal Treaty banned hunting of fur seals and sea otters in 1911, there were less than 2000 otters left. The Endangered Species Act listed southern sea otters as “threatened” in 1977. The Moss Landing harbor area and the adjacent Elkhorn Slough host about 5% of California’s population of southern sea otters.
Tags: Enhydra lutris nereis, Moss Landing, Otter, Sea Otter, Southern Sea Otter