Sea otters or sea otters once inhabited the entire northern coast of the Pacific Ocean, but by the beginning of the twentieth century their numbers had dropped to only a couple of thousand. Since then, the endangered species has not fully recovered, although the number of animals of this species is gradually increasing.
Kelp bushes. Photo: Andrey Sidorov
“His beaver collar”
In 1751, Georg Steller, who took part in the Second Kamchatka Expedition led by Vitus Bering, was the first to make a scientific description of this species, opening it to the general public. Sea otters almost suffered the same fate as the sea cow named after the researcher — they were hunted with such enthusiasm that they were almost completely exterminated because of the precious “sea beavers” – as they used to be called.
“Initially, these animals were very trusting, just like Steller’s cows,” explains Irina Nevedenskaya, deputy director of the Kurilsky Nature Reserve. — However, unlike the latter, they managed to rebuild their behavior model in time and began to avoid humans. As a result, although the population has shrunk to a critical size, it has not completely disappeared.
To date, the species has not fully restored its range — it overreacts to the anxiety factor, feeling at ease only in protected waters. In particular, Japan does not currently have its own population group of sea otters, except that single scouts from the Southern Kuril Islands occasionally sail to the island of Hokkaido.
“Of course, nobody kills sea otters in Hokkaido, but numerous boats and people make these marine mammals nervous,” Irina explains. “Probably for the same reason, they are now impossible to find on Shikotan, where they used to live. Two fish processing plants are currently operating there, hydrobiont fishing is underway, and marine tourism is developing.
Sometimes the desire to escape from dangerous “bipeds” leads to tragedies. Hiding under water, females drag their cubs there, but they cannot always correctly calculate the time they are able to stay without air. So babies can drown while their mothers hide them from people. Even friendly tourists who try to photograph them are dangerous for them – they may die from nervous shock.
Human economic activity is also a threat — the extraction of kelp, as well as seafood such as sea urchin, scallop and shrimp, which are exported to Asian countries. And if the same kelp can be freely extracted in the vicinity of Kunashir and Shikotan, then the rest of the aquatic organisms are not so abundant, and they cost more than “sea cabbage” on the market.
The reserve does not have the ability to control marine areas where there is a conflict of interests between sea otters and industrialists who are determined to extract delicious seafood. Going out into the open ocean on motorboats available to protected areas is often life-threatening. And there are not enough funds to maintain serious marine transport: the crew, maintenance and gasoline for such a vessel are expensive, despite the fact that the financing of nature reserves leaves much to be desired.
Picky tenants
Currently, in the Paramushir and Shumshu areas, where until recently the largest number of sea otters in Russia was recorded, their number has plummeted from 15,000 to 500. Scientists don’t know why this happened — perhaps it’s an unknown epizootic, or maybe it’s something else. But the number of sea otters in the Southern Kuril Islands, on the contrary, has begun to grow — according to the latest data, it has increased to 500 individuals.
— If at the end of the last century we had only isolated animals, now a large, stable group lives here, — Irina comments. — Of course, the environmental regime of the Kurilsky Nature Reserve and the Malye Kurily Nature Reserve plays an important role here, but it is not limited to them. Sea otters are extremely picky about the choice of coastal areas where they prefer to settle.
Sea otters are protected by the reserve “Small Kuriles”. Photo: Igor Samarin
The ice conditions of the coast are important. In particular, because of the ice, they may not settle in Kunashir, where there are suitable conditions and marine protection zones in the vicinity of Tyat volcano. In winter, ice sometimes accumulates near the shore, and sea otters avoid such areas. This is probably due to the peculiarities of forage extraction.
These predators cannot stay underwater for as long as pinnipeds, and therefore the possibility of falling into an ice trap is critically dangerous for them. If, for example, the larga seal, having discovered that the way to the surface is blocked by ice, has about half an hour to find a place to come up, the sea otter has much less time for this.
The depth of the waters in which the animals live also plays an important role. They prefer to settle near the coast, where the depth does not exceed 20 m. Of course, there should also be a food supply: crabs, fish and, most delicious of all, sea urchins. Another important component of a suitable place for a sea otter to live is kelp thickets, which animals like to wrap themselves up in before going to bed so that they don’t accidentally get carried away into the open ocean.
— Kelp forms underwater forests in which sea otters live, — explains the reserve employee. — They prefer coastal waters with thickets of these algae. For example, females wrap their cubs in them when they need to dive for food, so the baby will not be carried away by the current. Having chosen a suitable place, a group of sea otters settles near a certain island, and lives there.
A special lifestyle
Sea otters tend to be collectivistic, but the size of the group is constantly changing. Sometimes they are able to gather in a crowd of several hundred individuals, and then easily disperse to stay in a close family circle. These animals are extremely peaceful — there are practically no fights between them.
— Scientists suggest that this is due to the peculiarities of their skins, — explains Irina. — Sea otters do not have a fat layer, like other marine mammals. It is the fur that provides thermoregulation to sea otters, so it is very important for them to maintain their hair in integrity and cleanliness. The fur also gives them the opportunity to easily stay on the water, which also makes them treat their fur coat with special care.
During battles, there is a high probability of spoiling each other’s skins, which kalans cannot afford. Of course, there are some particularly quarrelsome individuals among them, but they are found among all species. In general, hostile animals will only growl at each other.
The Kalans have accepted mutual assistance. According to some reports, in the event of the death of the mother, the father can take over the upbringing of the cub. Sometimes, however, attempts to help a kinsman in trouble led to the death of his tribesmen. During the mass hunting of sea otters, it happened that the sea otter, which was in the hands of hunters, called for the help of his fellows — and they became prey with him.
These predators also have funny habits, such as swimming through the waves with their bellies up. At the same time, mothers also arrange their cubs on their stomachs, thus transporting them from one place to another. Researchers in the Western Pacific region often observed how sea otters used stones to break hard shells, thus getting to the tasty contents.
Moreover, in order not to look for a new tool every time, some sea otters put a particularly convenient stone into the folds of their fur. Its capacity is such that a predator can easily hide about 18 shells about 3-4 cm in diameter there for a rainy day. To maintain the right body temperature, the animal has to eat a lot. Therefore, sea otters need to consume about 10 kg of food per day, that is, about a quarter of their own weight.
These predators have almost no natural enemies, except for carnivorous killer whales, which keep all the inhabitants of the sea in fear, except sperm whales. But they constantly migrate across the ocean, coming to the habitats of sea otters only periodically, so it cannot be said that killer whales pose a serious threat to the survival of the species. Anyway, the main problem of the sea otter remains man. But even an animal can resist him on occasion.
“I was once part of an expedition to Iturup,— Irina recalls. — Our boat got into the territory of a male sea otter, which started jumping out of the water like a cork and attacking us. Perhaps this fearlessness was due to the fact that he had never seen people before, or maybe he had fallen into a state of passion due to stress. Anyway, he did everything to drive us away. Of course, we left, after which he calmed down, proud that he had defeated a dangerous enemy.
The tourist season in the Kuril Islands opens in late spring and early summer, when the cubs have just been born. During this period, sea otters are especially vulnerable. In an attempt to protect the baby bird, the female will try to tow it away from the disturbing factor, or even dive with it, and as a result may accidentally drown it. Therefore, it is important that people do not approach animals, no matter how much they would like to take a touching photo.
I would really like the sea otters to be protected not only by the sea and the Kuril mists, but also by people, so that no one would try to organize fishing for sea urchins and scallops in the few habitats of these rare animals, and tourists would take care primarily of the comfort of these very vulnerable marine mammals. After all, no one would like it if uninvited guests with cameras kept breaking into his house. Kalans have every right to privacy and to live by their own rules.
By Olga Ladygina
Kalan
