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The magnificent coastal waters
of British Columbia

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are home to an abundance
of incredible marine wildlife

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including humpback whales,
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
and lovable aquatic mammals:

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the sea otter.

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With its long whiskers 
and grizzled facial fur,

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these endearing animals 
have fittingly earned the nickname:

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the “old man of the sea”.

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But despite their cute appearance
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
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
success stories:

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the miraculous recovery
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
of the marine mammal family,

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yet also the largest member
of the weasel family.

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Found around sheltered islands,
reefs, fjords, and bays,

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sea otters feed on a variety of seafood,

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including clams, mussels,
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 
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,
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
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,
super dense warm underfur.

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Unfortunately, it is these beautiful,
luxurious coats

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that are the very reason sea otters
once vanished

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from British Columbia
and Canada altogether.

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Before the fur trade began
in the early 1800s,

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the world’s sea otter population
was estimated

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at between 150,000 and 300,000 animals.

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But by the early 1900s,
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
for our sea otters

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began with the combined efforts

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of federal, state
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
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
to over 1500 otters.

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The stunning initial success
of the reintroduction

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led the federal government 
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
expanded even more dramatically,

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

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

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and as far east as Hope Island
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
to one of ‘special concern’.

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Their continued recovery and expansion
on the West Canadian coast

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is now considered to be

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one of the most successful mammal
reintroductions in Canadian history!

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But this astonishing success story
doesn’t end there:

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sea otters are known
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
on shaping healthy ecosystems.

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If we look back at when sea otters
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
the kelp forests

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that are so critical
to our ocean’s health,

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essentially removing
this ‘rainforest of the sea’

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so-called because of
the kelp forests’ ability

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to provide food, shelter, oxygen
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
in the ecology of BC’s coastal ecosystems,

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the environmental spin-off
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
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
of their reintroduction,

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sea otters continue to face
a number of threats.

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The most serious is
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
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,
the sea otter populations

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took almost three decades to recover

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from the Exxon-Valdez
spill off the coast of Alaska.

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For these reasons

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it's critical that we continue 
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
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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and click that little notification bell

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so you don't miss our next episode

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Thanks everyone, see you soon!

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Margarida Ferreira's captions
(november-2023)