Return of the Sea Otter: The Story of the Animal That Evaded Extinction on the Pacific Coast

by Todd McLeish

Overview

A science journalist's journey along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters—the appealing species unique to this coastline that was hunted to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries.

These adorable, furry marine mammals—often seen floating on their backs holding hands—reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur during the 1700s and 1800s, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sealife. When otters disappear, sea urchins take over, and the kelp disappears along with all of the creatures that live in the beds. Now, thanks to their protected status, sea otters are making a comeback in California, Washington, and Alaska.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632171375
Publisher:	Sasquatch Books
Publication date:	03/20/2018
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	544,862
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 15.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Todd McLeish is a science writer with three published books, all on natural history topics: Narwhals, Basking with Humpbacks, and Golden Wings and Hairy Toes: New England Wildlife. He is a popular public speaker on cruise ships and at museums and environmental centers and has published articles on wildlife topics in Earthwatch Journal, Bird Watcher's Digest, WildBird, and Natural New England, among other publications.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Keystone Species 1

Canton, China

Chapter 2 Opposition 19

Big Sur, California

Chapter 3 Catch and Release 37

Monterey, California

Chapter 4 Shifting Paradigm 51

Santa Cruz, California

Chapter 5 Surrogate Mothers 69

Cannery Row, Monterey, California

Chapter 6 Stranded 85

Homer, Alaska

Chapter 7 Necropsy 97

Anchorage, Alaska

Chapter 8 Cucumbers and Geoducks 115

Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Chapter 9 Significantly Altered 131

Sitka, Alaska

Chapter 10 Crash 147

Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Chapter 11 Translocation 169

Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Chapter 12 Walter 189

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Chapter 13 Gaining Ground 209

Moss Landing, California

Acknowledgments 225

Selected Bibliography 229

Editorial Reviews

01/08/2018
Sea otters are “remarkable creatures who exert a dramatic positive influence on the health of at least two very different marine ecosystems,” proclaims science writer McLeish (Basking with Humpbacks) in this charming volume that examines the creature’s great popularity with the general public. Early chapters discuss the physical make-up of otters and explore how their “unique physiology and tool use” help them stand out among other mammals. McLeish also looks at the ways in which sea-otter numbers have fluctuated over the past few centuries, primarily due to the huge increase in global demand for their pelts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that nearly led to the creature’s extinction. Subsequent sections of the book recall McLeish’s more recent visits with sea-otter rescuers and researchers along the West Coast. Experiences in Monterey, Calif., home to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, prove especially captivating. He also highlights the significant work done every day by biologists, veterinarians, and volunteers who study sea otter “movement patterns, social interactions, behavior, diet, and reproductive success.” McLeish does well to provide a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal. Color photos. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Named One of The Best Books of 2018 About Climate Change, Conservation And The Environment by Forbes

"This hopeful book, written by a science journalist who traveled North America’s west coast from California to Alaska, details the sea otter’s remarkable comeback story from the brink of extinction, the conservation efforts that helped it, and the challenges to so-called 'sustainable fisheries' that this comeback presents. Entertaining and yet still scientifically accurate, this inspiring book will be enjoyed by conservation biologists as well as by citizen scientists, students of the sciences, and by nonspecialists."
—Forbes.com

“Todd McLeish does a masterful job of weaving together conservation politics with intriguing details of the sea otter's irreplaceable role in the nearshore ecosystem. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, I was captivated by this story!”
—Leigh Calvez, author of The Hidden Lives of Owls

“Whether you are in the camp that defines sea otters as the epitome of cute or with the abalone, sea cucumber, or urchin fishermen that see them as their nemesis, there is no debating that sea otters play a key role in shaping healthy nearshore ocean ecosystems. From Alaska to California, these fascinating and complex animals have survived centuries of harvest and persecution and, in at least one location, even targeting as prey by killer whales. In his book Return of the Sea Otter, Todd McLeish tells this story. But he also tells the other side of the story: the one of multiple translocation efforts, research, and rehabilitation—the story of people committed to making the world a better place, once species at a time. Beautifully written, entertaining, and engaging, McLeish’s tale of the sea otter will make you love this incredible animal and the ocean even more, and will leave you with hope that our efforts to heal our stressed ocean can and will make a difference.”
—Joseph K. Gaydos, coauthor of The Salish Sea

"Captivating. McLeish does well to provide a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal."
—Publishers Weekly

"A cautiously hopeful and well-researched tribute."
—Kirkus Reviews

"An excellent introduction to marine biology and to a charismatic species and...a welcome addition to any natural history library."
—Foreword Reviews

"Highly entertaining....A healthy sea-otter population is crucial for a healthy Pacific-coast ecosystem, and the author’s enthusiasm for the world’s cutest keystone species makes believers of all of us." 
—Booklist, starred review

"Delightful...will have any reader spouting off charming otter facts for days. Recommended for anyone interested in natural history, environmental writing, or adorable animals." 
—Library Journal

“Todd McLeish has a knack for writing accessible, easy-to-grasp books about wildlife and nature.”
—The Rhode Island Independent 

From the Publisher

2017-12-24
A Rhode Island-based science writer explores the recovery from possible extinction of what may be "the cutest animal on earth."These animals, writes McLeish (Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, 2015, etc.), don't just look cuddly and have a delightful ability to use tools; they also help maintain the marine environment where they live. After their numbers were severely cut by fur trading, the crucial kelp forests where the otters hunted suffered significant damage by sea urchins, the otters' preferred food. With the otters back again, the kelp ecosystems flourished. Sea otters are a well-studied species, and the author devotes chapters to time spent with researchers along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. He sailed out with spotters to count otters, and, in "the most precious fifteen minutes of my year," he observed a rescued otter pup being groomed by an aquarium worker. He attended "necropsies" intended to reveal why otters have died and was appalled to learn how many females are killed during mating. McLeish also considers, though doesn't adopt, the viewpoints of those who consider sea otters "the rats of the sea." Native Americans in Alaska, as well as other fishermen along the northern Pacific coast, are frustrated by the fact that animals left to range by the Marine Mammal Protection Act are devouring the same invertebrates the fishermen would like to harvest and sell. McLeish smoothly integrates background about the animals into his narrative, and he works in details about the history of their interaction with humans over the past few decades. Some of those attempts to save the otters, such as the introduction of surrogate mothers, have succeeded; others, such as relocation, haven't been as successful. The author also explains the complications of the relationships among the various protected marine mammals: in some places, the main enemy of the otters is the killer whale.A cautiously hopeful and well-researched tribute to an animal easy for most humans to love.

Kirkus Review

03/01/2018
McLeish (Narwhals; Basking with Humpbacks) returns to nature writing with this engaging exploration of the once highly threatened sea otters' recovery along the Pacific coast. Chapters jump among Alaska, California, and the Pacific Northwest, documenting the triumphs as well as the struggles faced by each otter population. The book describes how a few key players—along with the sea otters' own scrappy resilience—helped the species revive after being hunted to near extinction, and how modern conservation politics are still shaping their recovery. Though McLeish paints a mostly rosy portrait of the sea otters' comeback, he is also careful to detail what it took to get them here, and how easily it could go wrong for them again if we can't balance the tensions between human and otter activities. Yet, for all its seriousness, this is not a somber book: the chapters on otter behaviors (grooming, napping, and playful exuberance) are delightful, and will have any reader spouting off charming otter facts for days. VERDICT Recommended for anyone interested in natural history, environmental writing, or adorable animals.—Meredith Powers, York Coll., Brooklyn

Library Journal

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