A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters
-
0:00 - 0:03The magnificent coastal waters
of British Columbia -
0:03 - 0:06are home to an abundance
of incredible marine wildlife -
0:06 - 0:08including humpback whales,
steller sea lions, -
0:08 - 0:11orcas, porpoises, and harbour seals.
-
0:12 - 0:13The BC coast is also home
-
0:13 - 0:18to one of the most iconic, recognizable
and lovable aquatic mammals: -
0:18 - 0:19the sea otter.
-
0:19 - 0:22With its long whiskers
and grizzled facial fur, -
0:22 - 0:25these endearing animals
have fittingly earned the nickname: -
0:25 - 0:27the “old man of the sea”.
-
0:27 - 0:30But despite their cute appearance
and engaging antics, -
0:30 - 0:31sea otters have actually endured
-
0:31 - 0:34a long dark history in North America,
-
0:34 - 0:37once pushed to the very brink
of extinction. -
0:37 - 0:39My name is John E. Marriott.
-
0:39 - 0:40With this episode, we’re exposing you
-
0:40 - 0:44to one of Canada’s great environmental
success stories: -
0:44 - 0:47the miraculous recovery
of the once-extirpated sea otter -
0:47 - 0:49on the BC coast.
-
0:50 - 0:52(Music)
-
1:03 - 1:04Sea otters are unique
-
1:04 - 1:07in that they're the smallest member
of the marine mammal family, -
1:07 - 1:09yet also the largest member
of the weasel family. -
1:10 - 1:13Found around sheltered islands,
reefs, fjords, and bays, -
1:13 - 1:15sea otters feed on a variety of seafood,
-
1:15 - 1:19including clams, mussels,
crabs and sea urchins. -
1:19 - 1:20It’s not uncommon for sea otters
-
1:20 - 1:22to float around in the water on their back
-
1:22 - 1:24with their food on their belly
-
1:24 - 1:26like a picnic spread on a table,
-
1:26 - 1:29and remarkably, they are
one of the only animals in the world -
1:29 - 1:31to use tools like we do.
-
1:31 - 1:33Using rocks and other objects
-
1:33 - 1:35to crack open their hard-shelled food
-
1:35 - 1:37to get at the yummy stuff inside.
-
1:37 - 1:39Sea otters require a ton of food
-
1:39 - 1:42to stay warm in the cold,
coastal pacific waters -
1:42 - 1:44and eat up to 30%
-
1:44 - 1:46of their body weight every single day.
-
1:47 - 1:48Unlike other marine mammals,
-
1:48 - 1:50they don’t actually have a lot of body fat
-
1:50 - 1:51to insulate themselves,
-
1:51 - 1:54which is why they have one
of the thickest fur coats -
1:54 - 1:55in the animal kingdom,
-
1:55 - 1:56made up of two types of hair:
-
1:56 - 1:58long, sparse guard hairs
-
1:58 - 2:02and feathery-soft,
super dense warm underfur. -
2:03 - 2:07Unfortunately, it is these beautiful,
luxurious coats -
2:07 - 2:09that are the very reason sea otters
once vanished -
2:09 - 2:12from British Columbia
and Canada altogether. -
2:13 - 2:16Before the fur trade began
in the early 1800s, -
2:16 - 2:18the world’s sea otter population
was estimated -
2:18 - 2:22at between 150,000 and 300,000 animals.
-
2:22 - 2:25But by the early 1900s,
just over a century later, -
2:25 - 2:28the population had been totally decimated
-
2:28 - 2:31by our insatiable appetite for their fur
-
2:31 - 2:33and less than 2,000 animals remained.
-
2:33 - 2:35Eventually, the sea otter
-
2:35 - 2:37disappeared from the BC Coast completely
-
2:37 - 2:38The last otter shot
-
2:39 - 2:42and killed off Vancouver Island in 1929.
-
2:42 - 2:44The long road to recovery
for our sea otters -
2:44 - 2:46began with the combined efforts
-
2:46 - 2:48of federal, state
and provincial governments -
2:48 - 2:51in both Canada and the United States.
-
2:51 - 2:54Between 1969 and 1972,
-
2:54 - 2:5689 sea otters from Alaska
-
2:56 - 2:58were released in Checleset Bay
-
2:58 - 3:00off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
-
3:00 - 3:04Amazingly, this reintroduced population
prospered almost immediately -
3:04 - 3:06in the superb coastal habitat
-
3:06 - 3:07and by 1996,
-
3:07 - 3:12had doubled more than four times
to over 1500 otters. -
3:12 - 3:14The stunning initial success
of the reintroduction -
3:14 - 3:18led the federal government
to downgrade the sea otters’ status -
3:18 - 3:19as a species at risk
-
3:19 - 3:22from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened’.
-
3:22 - 3:26By 2004, the population had
expanded even more dramatically, -
3:26 - 3:30with sea otters found as far south
as Vargas Island in Clayoquot Sound, -
3:30 - 3:34as far north as the northern tip
of Vancouver Island, at Cape Scott, -
3:34 - 3:38and as far east as Hope Island
in Queen Charlotte Strait. -
3:39 - 3:40Today, sea otters have expanded
-
3:40 - 3:42even further afield in British Columbia
-
3:43 - 3:44and their status has been downgraded
-
3:44 - 3:47from a ‘threatened’ species
to one of ‘special concern’. -
3:47 - 3:51Their continued recovery and expansion
on the West Canadian coast -
3:51 - 3:52is now considered to be
-
3:52 - 3:55one of the most successful mammal
reintroductions in Canadian history! -
3:56 - 3:59But this astonishing success story
doesn’t end there: -
3:59 - 4:01sea otters are known
as a ‘keystone species’ -
4:01 - 4:03meaning that even a small number of them
-
4:03 - 4:07can have a dramatic effect
on shaping healthy ecosystems. -
4:07 - 4:10If we look back at when sea otters
were eradicated, -
4:10 - 4:12rocks and reefs quickly became overrun
-
4:13 - 4:15with dense populations of sea urchins
-
4:15 - 4:18and these sea urchins in turn wiped out
the kelp forests -
4:18 - 4:21that are so critical
to our ocean’s health, -
4:21 - 4:24essentially removing
this ‘rainforest of the sea’ -
4:25 - 4:27so-called because of
the kelp forests’ ability -
4:27 - 4:32to provide food, shelter, oxygen
and a nursery environment -
4:32 - 4:34for a wide variety of sea life.
-
4:35 - 4:36So with sea otters reintroduced
-
4:36 - 4:39and reoccupying their former habitat
-
4:39 - 4:43and resuming their crucial role
in the ecology of BC’s coastal ecosystems, -
4:43 - 4:46the environmental spin-off
has been remarkable: -
4:46 - 4:48the out-of-control sea urchin populations
-
4:48 - 4:50have been brought back under control,
-
4:50 - 4:53and the kelp forests have returned
and flourished, -
4:53 - 4:55completely reshaping our coast
-
4:55 - 4:56in a wonderful way.
-
4:57 - 5:00Despite the success
of their reintroduction, -
5:00 - 5:02sea otters continue to face
a number of threats. -
5:02 - 5:05The most serious is
from environmental contaminants -
5:05 - 5:07like oil spills.
-
5:07 - 5:09Oil spills are catastrophic for sea otters
-
5:10 - 5:13their fur loses its buoyancy
and insulating capabilities -
5:13 - 5:15and the otters end up dying from exposure.
-
5:15 - 5:17Those otters that do survive initially,
-
5:18 - 5:20end up inhaling and ingesting oil
-
5:20 - 5:22when they groom their oil-slicked fur
-
5:22 - 5:24causing even more deaths.
-
5:24 - 5:26Not surprisingly,
the sea otter populations -
5:26 - 5:29took almost three decades to recover
-
5:29 - 5:32from the Exxon-Valdez
spill off the coast of Alaska. -
5:33 - 5:34For these reasons
-
5:34 - 5:38it's critical that we continue
to protect sea otter habitat -
5:38 - 5:40and continue to monitor and reduce
-
5:40 - 5:42the risk of oil spills along the BC coast.
-
5:43 - 5:45Thanks for watching everyone,
-
5:45 - 5:46we really appreciate the support!
-
5:46 - 5:49Please let us know what you thought
about the episode -
5:49 - 5:50in the comments below,
-
5:50 - 5:52and don’t forget to subscribe
-
5:52 - 5:54and click that little notification bell
-
5:54 - 5:55so you don't miss our next episode
-
5:55 - 5:57Thanks everyone, see you soon!
-
5:57 - 5:59Margarida Ferreira's captions
(november-2023)
- Title:
- A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters
- Description:
-
EXPOSED is back with one FINAL episode of the show as you know it (more about that on March 3rd, 2020), and this time we’re exposing you to one of Canada’s greatest environmental success stories, the miraculous recovery of the Canadian sea otter from near extinction! Join John for a thrilling wildlife conservation success story that will have you grinning from ear to ear at the engaging antics of the adorable otters. Let us know what you think and please feel free to ‘Share’!
And if you enjoy our content, don’t forget to Subscribe to our Channel and click the Notification ‘bell’ to ensure you get an update when we publish new episodes:
https://bit.ly/2TMcueS
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- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Amplifying Voices
- Project:
- Wildlife Protection
- Duration:
- 05:58
Margarida Ferreira edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters | ||
Chiara Rossini edited English subtitles for A Wildlife Conservation SUCCESS: The Miraculous Return of Canada’s Sea Otters |