Sea Otters

These enchanting whiskered creatures of the ocean are a treat to see, and like many treats are a little hard to come by. Having been nearly extinct, they can now be seen off the weat coast of Vancouver Island, sometimes in Tofino, but more often in the north at Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park (a stubby nine-mile finger of land that juts out into the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island, northwest of Kyuquot). Humans have had the biggest impact on sea otters, their fur - the thickest in the animal kingdom at up to 1 million hairs per square inch - being prized by traders. Unlike whales, sea otters do not have blubber to keep them warm. They must eat at least 25% of their body weight each day in order to maintain a high metabolic rate, keeping their internal body temperature at 100F. Sea otters enjoy many different foods, but their favourites include abalone and sea urchins, making them vital to the ecosystem. Sea urchins are the most efficient and destructive consumers of kelp, and enhancement of the kelp beds produces substantial enlargement of fish stocks. When not diving for food, sea otters spend most of their time at the surface. Sea otters sleep at sea, sometimes joining hundreds of others in favourite resting areas called 'rafts'. They most often lie on their backs with their chins resting on the chest, small paws folded across their stomachs. During daylight hours, they often place their paws over their eyes so they can sleep and sometimes they wrap themselves up in kelp so that they don't drift away. Sea otters are one of the few animals to use tools. They often use rocks to break open shells, balancing the shell on their stomachs, while lying on their backs, and smashing the shell with a rock. Sometimes they keep favourite rocks or food items in pouches of skin under their forelegs.

Click on the link to see what sea otter holidays are offered by Frontier Canada.