el_maldo's Favorites

My favorite close-up Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris ssp. nereis) observations:
Female with Scarred Nose: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/165516431
Male showing Teeth: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164818190
Praying: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/175683723
Typical Tail Position: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151550648

Irene's Mustelids (Mustelidae) family observations on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=41770&user_id=aparrot1

Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris ssp. nereis) is a Pacific Ocean marine dwelling mammal in the Mustelids (Mustelidae) family that grows 3.5-4.5 ft (up to 1.5 meters) long. Northern Sea Otters are a lot larger than Southern Sea Otters, so they are probably the largest weasel. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean. Sea Otters are usually seen resting while wrapped up in floating Kelp beds, floating on their backs cracking open seafood with small rocks, eating, sleeping, preening thick fur, carrying one pup, or teaching the pups to dive and find food. Sea Otters eat a variety of shellfish, sea urchins, and especially red fat innkeeper worms in Elkhorn Slough. They do not go after fish. The range of Southern Sea Otters is usually south of San Francisco CA and north of the Channel Islands in southern California.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable and threatened (T) in United States (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). The numbers of sea otters are holding steady, but the gene pool is very small because their numbers were radically reduced during the fur trade for ladies fashion :-(

A current threat to the Southern Sea Otter is an infectious pathogen (Toxoplasma gondii) that spreads from CAT FECES on land to the sea, leading to detrimental impacts on marine wildlife. Rivers and storm drains wash the feline fecal pathogen into the ocean. Wild and domestic cats are the only known hosts of Toxoplasma, in which the parasite forms egglike stages, called oocysts, in their feces. Oocysts accumulate in kelp forests and are taken up by snails, which are eaten by sea otters.

"Genetic Link Found Between Deadly Pathogen and Wild and Feral Cats on Land" https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/whats-killing-sea-otters-scientists-pinpoint-parasite-strain

Mer Society (Marine Education and Research Society), dedicated to marine conservation through scientific research, education, and marine wildlife rescue. https://www.mersociety.org

Marine Mammals: an INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-mammals

Irene's Marine Mammals on INaturalist, worldwide: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-mammals/contributors/aparrot1

Irene's (aparrot1) Profile Page on INaturalist listing Nature Resources (includes online references with links) for Plants, Birds, Fungi, Lepidoptera, Arachnids, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine Life, Mammals, Plant Galls, and more: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/3188668