Name: Sea Otter
Information: Few creatures illicit more warm and fuzzy reactions from people than the sea otter. Protected today, the marine mammal was nearly hunted out of existence by Russian and American fur traders until an international treaty was signed in 1911 to ban their hunt. Sea otters belong to the weasel family and have the thickest fur of any mammal — an astounding 850,000 to one million hairs per square inch. Today they range from Central California to Alaska, and some are still found in Russia. Otters are most often seen foraging and playing near kelp beds off the central coast of California. This near shore environment provides the food and safety needed for the animal to survive in the wild. In California's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary the sea otter is a keystone species in the kelp forest ecosystem. For more on this creature visit: NOAA Sanctuaries Wikipedia NOAA