1908_11329 Sea Otters
This Sea Otter has just finished eating a crab, which has left an orange stain on her chin. Now her attention has turned to the three photographers floating in a small boat nearby. The charter tour operator was experienced and very good about listening to concerns and suggestions from his clients, including requests to back off or leave the area when we felt our presence was disturbing the otters too much.
I haven't spent enough time with this species to be certain, but the second otter may be a fully grown pup in the process of being cast off by mom. This otter circled the one with the crab, as if begging or expecting to be fed. That didn't happen. Sea Otters in California typically separate from their pups after six months; in Alaska, the range is broader, from four to 12 months. I couldn't find anything online about the specific life cycle of the British Columbia population. The otter at the left doesn't look anything like the pups we saw, and I don't know what they generally look like at separation, so this is just speculation.
In BC, Sea Otters were wiped out by the late 1920s, although small, isolated populations in remote areas may have survived. A reintroduction program, importing animals from Alaska - 89 in all, between 1969 and 1972 - has resulted in a healthy, relatively stable, protected population of more than 1,100 individuals (as of 2013).
Photographed near Quatsino on northern Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1908_11329 Sea Otters
This Sea Otter has just finished eating a crab, which has left an orange stain on her chin. Now her attention has turned to the three photographers floating in a small boat nearby. The charter tour operator was experienced and very good about listening to concerns and suggestions from his clients, including requests to back off or leave the area when we felt our presence was disturbing the otters too much.
I haven't spent enough time with this species to be certain, but the second otter may be a fully grown pup in the process of being cast off by mom. This otter circled the one with the crab, as if begging or expecting to be fed. That didn't happen. Sea Otters in California typically separate from their pups after six months; in Alaska, the range is broader, from four to 12 months. I couldn't find anything online about the specific life cycle of the British Columbia population. The otter at the left doesn't look anything like the pups we saw, and I don't know what they generally look like at separation, so this is just speculation.
In BC, Sea Otters were wiped out by the late 1920s, although small, isolated populations in remote areas may have survived. A reintroduction program, importing animals from Alaska - 89 in all, between 1969 and 1972 - has resulted in a healthy, relatively stable, protected population of more than 1,100 individuals (as of 2013).
Photographed near Quatsino on northern Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.