Just by eating sea urchins and destructive shellfish, sea otters are keeping kelp forests healthy and coastal erosion at bay.

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...

Petition to delist southern sea otters filed by sea urchin harvesters. In their March 2021 petition to delist the southern sea otter from the federal Endangered Species Act, the California Sea ...

Sea otters were hunted to local extinction more than 100 years ago. Their absence left a hole in Oregon Coast ecosystems that's being felt now more than ever.

Sea otters are keystone species in kelp forests. Kelp forests rely on the top-down pressure sea otters exert via predation on sea urchins. By controlling the sea urchin population, they help ...

Learn more about how one rescue diver–turned-conservationist is working to bring a thriving sea otter population back to the ...

Petition to delist southern sea otters filed by sea urchin harvesters. In their March 2021 petition to delist the southern sea otter from the federal Endangered Species Act, the California Sea ...

A new study finds sea otters don't want the so-called “zombie urchins” living in barren spaces, preferring more nutrient-rich urchins living in kelp forests.

But sea otters also threaten the shellfish industry and tribal self-governance. ... In Northern California, they’ve shrunk by more than 90%, replaced by urchin-filled barrens.

Some otters rely on tools to bust open hard-shelled prey items like snails, and a new study suggests this tool use is helping them to survive as their favorite, easier-to-eat foods disappear.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected sea urchin harvesters’ efforts to remove southern sea otters’ Endangered Species Act status.

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...