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The magnificent coastal waters[br]of British Columbia

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are home to an abundance[br]of incredible marine wildlife

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including humpback whales,[br]steller sea lions,

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orcas, porpoises, and harbour seals.

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The BC coast is also home

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to one of the most iconic, recognizable[br]and lovable aquatic mammals:

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the sea otter.

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With its long whiskers [br]and grizzled facial fur,

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these endearing animals [br]have fittingly earned the nickname:

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the “old man of the sea”.

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But despite their cute appearance[br]and engaging antics,

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sea otters have actually endured

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a long dark history in North America,

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once pushed to the very brink[br]of extinction.

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My name is John E. Marriott.

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With this episode, we’re exposing you

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to one of Canada’s great environmental[br]success stories:

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the miraculous recovery[br]of the once-extirpated sea otter

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on the BC coast.

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(Music)

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Sea otters are unique

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in that they're the smallest member[br]of the marine mammal family,

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yet also the largest member[br]of the weasel family.

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Found around sheltered islands,[br]reefs, fjords, and bays,

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sea otters feed on a variety of seafood,

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including clams, mussels,[br]crabs and sea urchins.

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It’s not uncommon for sea otters

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to float around in the water on their back

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with their food on their belly

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like a picnic spread on a table,

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and remarkably, they are [br]one of the only animals in the world

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to use tools like we do.

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Using rocks and other objects

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to crack open their hard-shelled food

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to get at the yummy stuff inside.

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Sea otters require a ton of food

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to stay warm in the cold,[br]coastal pacific waters

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and eat up to 30%

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of their body weight every single day.

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Unlike other marine mammals,

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they don’t actually have a lot of body fat

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to insulate themselves,

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which is why they have one[br]of the thickest fur coats

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in the animal kingdom,

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made up of two types of hair:

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long, sparse guard hairs

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and feathery-soft,[br]super dense warm underfur.

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Unfortunately, it is these beautiful,[br]luxurious coats

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that are the very reason sea otters[br]once vanished

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from British Columbia[br]and Canada altogether.

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Before the fur trade began[br]in the early 1800s,

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the world’s sea otter population[br]was estimated

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at between 150,000 and 300,000 animals.

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But by the early 1900s,[br]just over a century later,

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the population had been totally decimated

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by our insatiable appetite for their fur

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and less than 2,000 animals remained.

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Eventually, the sea otter

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disappeared from the BC Coast completely

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The last otter shot

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and killed off Vancouver Island in 1929.

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The long road to recovery[br]for our sea otters

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began with the combined efforts

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of federal, state[br]and provincial governments

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in both Canada and the United States.

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Between 1969 and 1972,

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89 sea otters from Alaska

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were released in Checleset Bay

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off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

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Amazingly, this reintroduced population[br]prospered almost immediately

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in the superb coastal habitat

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and by 1996,

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had doubled more than four times[br]to over 1500 otters.

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The stunning initial success[br]of the reintroduction

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led the federal government [br]to downgrade the sea otters’ status

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as a species at risk

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from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened’.

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By 2004, the population had[br]expanded even more dramatically,

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with sea otters found as far south[br]as Vargas Island in Clayoquot Sound,

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as far north as the northern tip[br]of Vancouver Island, at Cape Scott,

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and as far east as Hope Island[br]in Queen Charlotte Strait.

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Today, sea otters have expanded

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even further afield in British Columbia

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and their status has been downgraded

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from a ‘threatened’ species[br]to one of ‘special concern’.

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Their continued recovery and expansion[br]on the West Canadian coast

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is now considered to be

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one of the most successful mammal[br]reintroductions in Canadian history!

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But this astonishing success story[br]doesn’t end there:

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sea otters are known[br]as a ‘keystone species’

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meaning that even a small number of them

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can have a dramatic effect[br]on shaping healthy ecosystems.

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If we look back at when sea otters[br]were eradicated,

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rocks and reefs quickly became overrun

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with dense populations of sea urchins

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and these sea urchins in turn wiped out[br]the kelp forests

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that are so critical[br]to our ocean’s health,

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essentially removing[br]this ‘rainforest of the sea’

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so-called because of[br]the kelp forests’ ability

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to provide food, shelter, oxygen[br]and a nursery environment

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for a wide variety of sea life.

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So with sea otters reintroduced

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and reoccupying their former habitat

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and resuming their crucial role[br]in the ecology of BC’s coastal ecosystems,

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the environmental spin-off[br]has been remarkable:

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the out-of-control sea urchin populations

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have been brought back under control,

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and the kelp forests have returned[br]and flourished,

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completely reshaping our coast

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in a wonderful way.

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Despite the success[br]of their reintroduction,

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sea otters continue to face[br]a number of threats.

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The most serious is[br]from environmental contaminants

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like oil spills.

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Oil spills are catastrophic for sea otters

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their fur loses its buoyancy[br]and insulating capabilities

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and the otters end up dying from exposure.

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Those otters that do survive initially,

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end up inhaling and ingesting oil

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when they groom their oil-slicked fur

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causing even more deaths.

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Not surprisingly,[br]the sea otter populations

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took almost three decades to recover

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from the Exxon-Valdez[br]spill off the coast of Alaska.

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For these reasons

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it's critical that we continue [br]to protect sea otter habitat

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and continue to monitor and reduce

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the risk of oil spills along the BC coast.

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Thanks for watching everyone,

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we really appreciate the support!

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Please let us know what you thought[br]about the episode

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in the comments below,

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and don’t forget to subscribe

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Thanks everyone, see you soon!

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Margarida Ferreira's captions[br](november-2023)