In Washington, sea otters are listed as endangered under the State Endangered Species Act. Well they do and its the sea otter. Within Alaska, there are 3 stocks. Surprisingly, a small raft of otters was found to have survived off the coast of California's Big Sur. The Southeast stock can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Alaska. In some areas such as alaska and along that stretch of coast there was no otters alive at all as they had all been hunted. They include the Southern River Otter, Hairy Nosed Otter, Giant Otter, and the India Smooth Coated Otter. Just like its name which is “northern”, this species of sea otter is native to the North America continent where you can find them exist along the coast and also waterways. In the U.S., there are two distinct sea otter subspecies, the Northern sea otter and the Southern sea otter. There are three sub-species of sea otters: Southern sea otters, Northern, and the Russian. There is one species of Otter on the low risk list which is the Oriental Small Clawed Otter. The sea otter is the smallest marine mammal and the largest member of the weasel family. The southern sea otter was believed to be extinct, and otters in Alaskan waters were similarly imperiled. 4. California’s sea otters are, as many have pointed out, a conservation success story. Northern sea otters are found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. Early in the 20th century only 1,000 to 2,000 animals remained. Since then, intense conservation efforts have allowed the population to grow to about 3,000. However, the sea otter population has been slow to recover. Their fur is made up of a dense underfur, ranging in color from brown to black, and longer guard hairs. The South central population spans from west of Glacier Bay to the eastern edge of Cook Inlet. This southern population was sluggishly yet steadily expanding, and its future looked promising until otters started getting entangled in gillnets and drowning. The sea otter is the smallest marine mammal and the largest member of the weasel family. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family. Northern river otter. For North American river otters, a mother may have up to six pups. But then why aren't they being eaten at all. Sea Otters do not have a layer of blubber like other marine mammals, and they rely solely on their fur to keep warm. These smallish creatures once had a rather sizable population throughout their home … Why is the sea otter endangered? THe endangered sea otter. Sea otters once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but fur traders hunted them in large numbers and, consequently, reduced their population size. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are aquatic carnivores that reside in coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean, including waters by the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia and Mexico. There are three sub-species of sea otters: Southern sea otters, Northern, and the Russian. The northern sea otter subspecies (E. lutris kenyoni), is found in the Aleutian Islands, Southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. Their hind feet are webbed to aid in swimming, and their front toes are short and stiff. For sea otters, there is usually only 1 pup, more rarely 2 pups. Otters are mammals and bear live young (pups). We need you to answer this question! The northern sea otter is protected from hunting and harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Another endangered sea otter species is known as northern river otter which is also known as common otter. Sea otters live in shallow coastal waters off the northern Pacific. The guard hairs can be brown to black to silver. Several of the species though are listed as vulnerable and endangered. The Southwest population stretches from the western edge of Cook … explains why and how the sea otter is endangered. Well because in the late 1890's and early 1900's they were hunted near extinction with less than 2,000 remaining. The U.S. They were once thought to be extinct in California, but about 50 sea otters were rediscovered in 1938. Sea otters were hunted for their fur to the point of near extinction.