The INCREDIBLE Ways Sea Otters Survive Nature's Fury

#seaotter #californiastorms #kpassionate
How do sea otters survive storms and atmospheric rivers? Do storms affect the sea otter population? What about seals, sea lions, and walruses? A marine biologist answers these questions and explains the amazing ways marine mammals survive nature's fury.

00:00 - Ask a Marine Biologist
00:37 - Atmospheric Rivers Hit California
01:23 - Sea Otter Fur
02:15 - Does Rain Bother Sea Otters?
02:55 - Reaction to Sea Otters Sleeping in Hail
03:18 - Sea Otters Sleeping Holding Hands
03:59 - Sea Otters and Kelp Forests
04:38 - Seal Pups and Storms
06:01 - Sea Otter Rescue Story
07:34 - Bloopers

Coastal storms have increased in number and frequency. And there is a strong body of evidence that shows that these storms can adversely affect many marine mammals. Including sea otters. Thankfully, sea otters are almost perfectly adapted to life in the rainy north Pacific. With around 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch hairs per square inch, sea otters have the densest fur coat in the animal kingdom. Sea otter fur also has two layers. Long, waterproof guard hairs and a soft dense underfur that traps a layer of air to provide additional insulation.

But not so much the rain or hail that is the problem… but wind and waves. Anyone who has ever swam in the ocean knows that waves push you in directions you don’t want to go. So sea otters hold hands to keep from washing away. This behavior is known as rafting and sea otters tend to raft up in areas shielded from heavy wind and waves in estuaries, coves, and especially kelp forests.

But not all marine mammals are as well adapted to weathering these storms. Seals and sea lion pups are especially vulnerable to heavy rain and high winds. This winter, a string of NINE consecutive atmospheric rivers hit the West coast, causing epic storm surges that tragically swept a large number of newborn elephant seals out to sea.

While sea otters are typically better than pinnipeds at weathering storms… weather related strandings do occur. You might recognize one example. A sea otter I worked with named Katmai.

Katmai the Sea Otter's Rescue Story
[1] https://www.homernews.com/news/otter-pup-rescued-after-being-stranded-on-road/
[2] https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2013/03/alaska-sealife-center-rehabs-baby-otter-and-it-finds-new-home-.html
[3] https://alaskapublic.org/2013/03/26/rescued-sea-otter-finds-a-home/#:~:text=After%20efforts%20to%20locate%20her,Sea.

Sea Otter Savvy Original Video
[1] https://twitter.com/SeaOtterSavvy/status/1629894584812867585

Cited Sources
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69124-6
[2] https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article271298442.html

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#california #californiastorms #californiaseaotter #atmosphericriver #seaotters #marinebiology #otters #otter #katmaiseaotter #katmai #seaotterrescue #seaottersrafting #seaotterssleeping #seaotterfur #californiaatmosphericriver #seaotterkatmai #katmai #katmaiotter #kpassionateseaotter #kpassionateotter