[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:02.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The magnificent coastal waters\Nof British Columbia
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.87,0:00:05.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are home to an abundance\Nof incredible marine wildlife
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.80,0:00:08.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including humpback whales,\Nsteller sea lions,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.41,0:00:11.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,orcas, porpoises, and harbour seals.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.69,0:00:13.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The BC coast is also home
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.21,0:00:17.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to one of the most iconic, recognizable\Nand lovable aquatic mammals:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.62,0:00:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sea otter.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.00,0:00:22.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With its long whiskers \Nand grizzled facial fur,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.18,0:00:25.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these endearing animals \Nhave fittingly earned the nickname:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.17,0:00:26.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the “old man of the sea”.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.05,0:00:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But despite their cute appearance\Nand engaging antics,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.90,0:00:31.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sea otters have actually endured
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.45,0:00:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a long dark history in North America,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.78,0:00:36.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once pushed to the very brink\Nof extinction.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.94,0:00:38.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My name is John E. Marriott.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.50,0:00:40.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With this episode, we’re exposing you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.49,0:00:43.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to one of Canada’s great environmental\Nsuccess stories:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.82,0:00:47.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the miraculous recovery\Nof the once-extirpated sea otter
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.28,0:00:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the BC coast.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.52,0:00:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Music)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.55,0:01:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea otters are unique
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.61,0:01:06.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that they're the smallest member\Nof the marine mammal family,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.62,0:01:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yet also the largest member\Nof the weasel family.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.73,0:01:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Found around sheltered islands,\Nreefs, fjords, and bays,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.04,0:01:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sea otters feed on a variety of seafood,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.20,0:01:18.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including clams, mussels,\Ncrabs and sea urchins.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.88,0:01:20.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s not uncommon for sea otters
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.42,0:01:22.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to float around in the water on their back
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.50,0:01:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their food on their belly
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.94,0:01:25.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a picnic spread on a table,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.67,0:01:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and remarkably, they are \None of the only animals in the world
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.80,0:01:30.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use tools like we do.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.62,0:01:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Using rocks and other objects
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.68,0:01:34.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to crack open their hard-shelled food
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.75,0:01:36.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get at the yummy stuff inside.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.97,0:01:39.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea otters require a ton of food
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.16,0:01:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to stay warm in the cold,\Ncoastal pacific waters
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.04,0:01:44.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eat up to 30%
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.08,0:01:46.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of their body weight every single day.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.80,0:01:48.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unlike other marine mammals,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.21,0:01:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they don’t actually have a lot of body fat
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.26,0:01:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to insulate themselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.36,0:01:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is why they have one\Nof the thickest fur coats
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.80,0:01:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the animal kingdom,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.84,0:01:56.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made up of two types of hair:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.42,0:01:58.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,long, sparse guard hairs
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.37,0:02:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and feathery-soft,\Nsuper dense warm underfur.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.13,0:02:06.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, it is these beautiful,\Nluxurious coats
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.59,0:02:09.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are the very reason sea otters\Nonce vanished
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.22,0:02:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from British Columbia\Nand Canada altogether.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.90,0:02:15.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before the fur trade began\Nin the early 1800s,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.81,0:02:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the world’s sea otter population\Nwas estimated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.06,0:02:21.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at between 150,000 and 300,000 animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.12,0:02:25.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But by the early 1900s,\Njust over a century later,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.25,0:02:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the population had been totally decimated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.98,0:02:30.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by our insatiable appetite for their fur
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.62,0:02:33.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and less than 2,000 animals remained.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.44,0:02:34.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eventually, the sea otter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.73,0:02:37.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disappeared from the BC Coast completely
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.19,0:02:38.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The last otter shot
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.52,0:02:41.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and killed off Vancouver Island in 1929.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.22,0:02:44.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The long road to recovery\Nfor our sea otters
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.36,0:02:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,began with the combined efforts
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.88,0:02:48.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of federal, state\Nand provincial governments
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.33,0:02:50.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in both Canada and the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.77,0:02:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Between 1969 and 1972,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.69,0:02:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,89 sea otters from Alaska
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.50,0:02:57.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were released in Checleset Bay
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.54,0:03:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.29,0:03:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Amazingly, this reintroduced population\Nprospered almost immediately
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.01,0:03:06.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the superb coastal habitat
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.19,0:03:07.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by 1996,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.47,0:03:11.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had doubled more than four times\Nto over 1500 otters.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.97,0:03:14.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The stunning initial success\Nof the reintroduction
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.35,0:03:17.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,led the federal government \Nto downgrade the sea otters’ status
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.74,0:03:19.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a species at risk
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.49,0:03:21.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened’.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.54,0:03:25.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By 2004, the population had\Nexpanded even more dramatically,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.89,0:03:29.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with sea otters found as far south\Nas Vargas Island in Clayoquot Sound,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.49,0:03:34.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as far north as the northern tip\Nof Vancouver Island, at Cape Scott,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.37,0:03:37.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as far east as Hope Island\Nin Queen Charlotte Strait.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.70,0:03:40.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, sea otters have expanded
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.31,0:03:42.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even further afield in British Columbia
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.54,0:03:44.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their status has been downgraded
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.44,0:03:47.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a ‘threatened’ species\Nto one of ‘special concern’.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.45,0:03:50.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their continued recovery and expansion\Non the West Canadian coast
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.63,0:03:52.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is now considered to be
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.11,0:03:55.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the most successful mammal\Nreintroductions in Canadian history!
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.98,0:03:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this astonishing success story\Ndoesn’t end there:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.91,0:04:01.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sea otters are known\Nas a ‘keystone species’
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.13,0:04:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meaning that even a small number of them
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.32,0:04:06.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can have a dramatic effect\Non shaping healthy ecosystems.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.22,0:04:09.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we look back at when sea otters\Nwere eradicated,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.01,0:04:12.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rocks and reefs quickly became overrun
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.53,0:04:14.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with dense populations of sea urchins
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.93,0:04:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and these sea urchins in turn wiped out\Nthe kelp forests
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.24,0:04:20.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are so critical\Nto our ocean’s health,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.88,0:04:24.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,essentially removing\Nthis ‘rainforest of the sea’
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.58,0:04:27.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so-called because of\Nthe kelp forests’ ability
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.33,0:04:31.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to provide food, shelter, oxygen\Nand a nursery environment
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.51,0:04:33.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a wide variety of sea life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.82,0:04:36.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So with sea otters reintroduced
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.38,0:04:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reoccupying their former habitat
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.62,0:04:43.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and resuming their crucial role\Nin the ecology of BC’s coastal ecosystems,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.45,0:04:45.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the environmental spin-off\Nhas been remarkable:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.05,0:04:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the out-of-control sea urchin populations
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.14,0:04:49.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been brought back under control,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.100,0:04:52.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the kelp forests have returned\Nand flourished,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.01,0:04:54.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,completely reshaping our coast
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.66,0:04:56.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a wonderful way.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.31,0:04:59.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite the success\Nof their reintroduction,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.54,0:05:02.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sea otters continue to face\Na number of threats.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.40,0:05:05.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most serious is\Nfrom environmental contaminants
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.17,0:05:06.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like oil spills.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.87,0:05:09.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oil spills are catastrophic for sea otters
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.57,0:05:12.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their fur loses its buoyancy\Nand insulating capabilities
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.78,0:05:15.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the otters end up dying from exposure.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.44,0:05:17.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those otters that do survive initially,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.67,0:05:19.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,end up inhaling and ingesting oil
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.64,0:05:21.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they groom their oil-slicked fur
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.97,0:05:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,causing even more deaths.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.02,0:05:26.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not surprisingly,\Nthe sea otter populations
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.37,0:05:28.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,took almost three decades to recover
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.79,0:05:32.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the Exxon-Valdez\Nspill off the coast of Alaska.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.12,0:05:34.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For these reasons
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.36,0:05:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's critical that we continue \Nto protect sea otter habitat
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.87,0:05:39.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and continue to monitor and reduce
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.83,0:05:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the risk of oil spills along the BC coast.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.36,0:05:44.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks for watching everyone,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.83,0:05:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we really appreciate the support!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.47,0:05:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please let us know what you thought\Nabout the episode
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.02,0:05:50.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the comments below,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.16,0:05:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and don’t forget to subscribe
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.60,0:05:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and click that little notification bell
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.53,0:05:55.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you don't miss our next episode
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.17,0:05:57.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks everyone, see you soon!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.66,0:05:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Margarida Ferreira's captions\N(november-2023)