Otter Outlook

The California population of sea otters is less than 2,800 animals and is listed as Threatened by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. SeaWorld has a long history of helping otters in distress. The California sea otters at SeaWorld San Diego were initially stranded and rescued as part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation program.

California sea otters are found exclusively along the coast of central California and can be seen at Otter Outlook. Lacking an insulating blubber layer, these otters are covered in dense, luxurious fur that keeps them warm. In fact, they have the densest fur of any mammal with up to 1,000,000 hairs per square inch.

Because they have an extremely fast metabolism, California sea otters eat about 20 to 25 percent of their body weight daily. For an otter weighing 100 pounds, this would be 25 pounds of food every day.