Return of the Sea Otter: The Story of the Animal That Evaded Extinction on the Pacific Coast

by Todd McLeish

Overview

A science journalist's journey along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters—the appealing species unique to this coastline that was hunted to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries.

These adorable, furry marine mammals—often seen floating on their backs holding hands—reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur during the 1700s and 1800s, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sealife. When otters disappear, sea urchins take over, and the kelp disappears along with all of the creatures that live in the beds. Now, thanks to their protected status, sea otters are making a comeback in California, Washington, and Alaska.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632171375
Publisher:	Sasquatch Books
Publication date:	03/20/2018
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	182,662
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Todd McLeish is a science writer with three published books, all on natural history topics: Narwhals, Basking with Humpbacks, and Golden Wings and Hairy Toes: New England Wildlife. He is a popular public speaker on cruise ships and at museums and environmental centers and has published articles on wildlife topics in Earthwatch Journal, Bird Watcher's Digest, WildBird, and Natural New England, among other publications.

Editorial Reviews

01/08/2018
Sea otters are “remarkable creatures who exert a dramatic positive influence on the health of at least two very different marine ecosystems,” proclaims science writer McLeish (Basking with Humpbacks) in this charming volume that examines the creature’s great popularity with the general public. Early chapters discuss the physical make-up of otters and explore how their “unique physiology and tool use” help them stand out among other mammals. McLeish also looks at the ways in which sea-otter numbers have fluctuated over the past few centuries, primarily due to the huge increase in global demand for their pelts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that nearly led to the creature’s extinction. Subsequent sections of the book recall McLeish’s more recent visits with sea-otter rescuers and researchers along the West Coast. Experiences in Monterey, Calif., home to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, prove especially captivating. He also highlights the significant work done every day by biologists, veterinarians, and volunteers who study sea otter “movement patterns, social interactions, behavior, diet, and reproductive success.” McLeish does well to provide a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal. Color photos. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Todd McLeish does a masterful job of weaving together conservation politics with intriguing details of the sea otter's irreplaceable role in the nearshore ecosystem. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, I was captivated by this story!”
—Leigh Calvez, author of The Hidden Lives of Owls

“Whether you are in the camp that defines sea otters as the epitome of cute or with the abalone, sea cucumber, or urchin fishermen that see them as their nemesis, there is no debating that sea otters play a key role in shaping healthy nearshore ocean ecosystems. From Alaska to California, these fascinating and complex animals have survived centuries of harvest and persecution and, in at least one location, even targeting as prey by killer whales. In his book Return of the Sea Otter, Todd McLeish tells this story. But he also tells the other side of the story: the one of multiple translocation efforts, research, and rehabilitation—the story of people committed to making the world a better place, once species at a time. Beautifully written, entertaining, and engaging, McLeish’s tale of the sea otter will make you love this incredible animal and the ocean even more, and will leave you with hope that our efforts to heal our stressed ocean can and will make a difference.”
—Joseph K. Gaydos, coauthor of The Salish Sea

From the Publisher

2017-12-24
A Rhode Island-based science writer explores the recovery from possible extinction of what may be "the cutest animal on earth."These animals, writes McLeish (Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, 2015, etc.), don't just look cuddly and have a delightful ability to use tools; they also help maintain the marine environment where they live. After their numbers were severely cut by fur trading, the crucial kelp forests where the otters hunted suffered significant damage by sea urchins, the otters' preferred food. With the otters back again, the kelp ecosystems flourished. Sea otters are a well-studied species, and the author devotes chapters to time spent with researchers along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. He sailed out with spotters to count otters, and, in "the most precious fifteen minutes of my year," he observed a rescued otter pup being groomed by an aquarium worker. He attended "necropsies" intended to reveal why otters have died and was appalled to learn how many females are killed during mating. McLeish also considers, though doesn't adopt, the viewpoints of those who consider sea otters "the rats of the sea." Native Americans in Alaska, as well as other fishermen along the northern Pacific coast, are frustrated by the fact that animals left to range by the Marine Mammal Protection Act are devouring the same invertebrates the fishermen would like to harvest and sell. McLeish smoothly integrates background about the animals into his narrative, and he works in details about the history of their interaction with humans over the past few decades. Some of those attempts to save the otters, such as the introduction of surrogate mothers, have succeeded; others, such as relocation, haven't been as successful. The author also explains the complications of the relationships among the various protected marine mammals: in some places, the main enemy of the otters is the killer whale.A cautiously hopeful and well-researched tribute to an animal easy for most humans to love.

Kirkus Review