Had an exciting day out on the water in Alert Bay. First up: #SeaOtters looking very cute!

Good to read (though Iʼm a couple of years behind) Entangled: People and Ecological Change in Alaska's Kachemak Bay
by Marilyn Sigman Thoughtful observation of creatures, stories and policies, in history and now The Blob #Alaska #Ecology #History #Sugpiat #SeaOtters #ClimateChange #KenaiPeninsula

How a surfing sea otter revealed the dark side of human nature https://phys.org/news/2023-07-surfing-sea-otter-revealed-dark.html "Any number of things could explain the Santa Cruz otter's behavior [...] People blame the otter, without stopping to think what our use of this space—their home—may mean to otters. This particular otter may go through the trauma of being trapped, torn from her home and relocated. Yet it is the otter that is considered the aggressor." 🦦 #SeaOtters #MarineMammals #AnimalWelfare

The #SeaOtters are learning from the #Orcas! 😎

A LOT of comments in support of leaving the Otter alone and getting rid of the surfers 🤣. Top comment according to me:

"I think it’s time we capture the surfers and relocate them." https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=pfbid02q3u55MszgGXKxP4HGvdhG8ZPKpevkTKyHcvzCytdAy2KTV5kKWi6yt1uqZDDSNP9l&id=100064402584146

I totally support #seaotters and #orcas attacking humans! :drake_like: #naturefightsback

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/12/sea-otter-surfing-santa-cruz-california

There are sea otters south of Oregon, and there are sea otters north of Oregon, but they haven't been here in over a century. The Elakha Alliance, a tribal and nonprofit coalition, has been working to reintroduce them, but resistance from the crab fishing industry is going to be a major hurdle:
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2023/06/19/oregon-coast-sea-otter-reintroduction-sea-urchin-kelp-forests/70327487007/

#Oregon #fisheries #SeaOtters #wildlife #PNW

Today I referred to my SEcurity AWareness TRaining program as "SEAWTR" pronouncing it Sea Otter. No one knew what the hell I was talking about. And apparently I'm the crazy one?

#infosec #seaotters #cybersecurity #securityawarenesstraining

“Every now and then we have a chance to right a wrong,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, “I am convinced that bringing sea otters back to the North Coast is one of those things.” 🦦

What do you think about bringing #seaotters back to their historic habitat in the #BayArea & beyond? https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/bay-area-county-hopes-reintroduce-sea-otters-18121841.php#photo-23874128 #marinelife #marinemammals #otters

[Leach et al.] #SeaOtters are apex predators that can exert considerable influence over the nearshore communities they occupy. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13929?af=R 🦦 #MarineMammals #MarineScience

Why elephants, otters and whales are nature’s secret weapons against climate breakdown | Matthew Gould | The Guardian
#ClimateCrisis
#CarbonStorage
#Elephants
#Whales
#SeaOtters
#Kelp
#Trees
#Phytoplankton
#Wildebeest
#Fires
#Reindeer
#WildHorses
#MuskOx
#Bison
#Conservation
#Pangolins
#Tigers
#RedKites
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/19/elephants-otters-whales-nature-climate-breakdown-carbon-ecosystems

AAAS: "Deadly parasite threatens California sea otters" 2020 a veterinary pathologist examined a dead sea otter from central California. Findings were unusual, with inflammation in nearly all of the animal's body fat, plus pancreas + heart. Pathogen was Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. "But this strain wasn’t acting like the usual Toxoplasma, which typically causes mainly brain and heart inflammation in immune-suppressed animals, and is far less lethal." This speciman though had few parasites in the brain, perhaps because it died so quickly the parasite had not yet extensively invaded. "Sea otters once ranged across the Pacific Rim, but were hunted nearly to extinction for their pelts in the 18th and 19th centuries." Otters eat urchins, which attack kelp, which provides habitat for many organisms. Mammals + birds can be infected by T. gondii. Parasite reproduces sexually in cats, which excrete its microscopic eggs in feces [dangerous for pregnant women]. If oocyts reach the coast, clams and other filter-feeding invertebrates may take up the oocysts, a risk for otters + theoretically humans. The Monterey Bay Aquarium treats about 10 sea otters with toxoplasmosis per year. The threat to humans is uncertain, as the strain infecting sea otters — called COUG — has never been found in our species. Fortunately, I never eat uncooked shellfish, more properly called molluscs, because of the risks of Vibrio, norovirus + hepatitis A.
#toxoplasmosis #seaotters

🦦 https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/hungry-sea-otters-crack-and-eat-shellfish-at-oregon-zoo

“Oysterous and boisterous.” Spend 1.5 minutes watching and listening to these hungry #seaotters crack and eat #shellfish in their pool at the #OregonZoo. Pretty darn cute.

#video #zoo #animals #otters

Happy Tuesday!! Check out this precious (and rather plump) sea otter pulling himself out of the water and onto the dock for a rest after swimming a good distance in Seward, #Alaska 💗
📸 by Phillip Flippo
#AlaskaMarineLife #SeaOtters

Ars Technica: By learning to hunt otters, wolves decimate a deer population https://arstechnica.com/?p=1912626 #Tech #arstechnica #IT #Technology #predation #seaotters #Science #Ecology #Alaska #Nature #wolves #deer

By learning to hunt otters, wolves decimate a deer population - Enlarge / So cute yet—for some animals—so tasty. (credit: Arthur Morris... - https://arstechnica.com/?p=1912626 #predation #seaotters #science #ecology #alaska #nature #wolves #deer

Under each forearm are baggy pockets of loose skin. The sea otter uses these pockets to store food it has gathered. It also stores favorite rocks that it uses for cracking open mollusks and clams. They're so cute!!!

#science #sciencefacts #otters #seaotters #rocks #tools #adorable #cute

https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/seaotteranatomy/

Cute, furry and key to the ecosystem: can #SeaOtters save the US west coast? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/23/sea-otter-reintroduction-west-coast-california 🦦 MarineScience #MarineMammals
{📷©Danita Delimont}

Nonprofit Seeks To Repopulate #SeaOtters Along West Coast
"Not only would the sea otters thrive, but they would also help restore vital kelp forest and seagrass ecosystems."

https://patch.com/california/santacruz/arizona-nonprofit-seeks-repopulate-sea-otters-along-west-coast?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=share

Things you can always talk to me about:
#books : #speculativefiction #classicfiction #goldenagemysteries #genredefyingfic #gothicliterature #MarchMagics (my #TerryPratchett and #DianaWynneJones event) and the #PeculiarBookClub
#music : #synthpop #britpop #dreampop #shoegaze
#animals : #marineinvertebrates #seaotters #orcas #trailcamphotos

Things you can always talk to me about:
#books : #speculativefiction #classicfiction #goldenagemysteries #genredefyingfic #gothicliterature #MarchMagics (my #TerryPratchett and #DianaWynneJones event) and the #PeculiarBookClub
#music : #synthpop #britpop #dreampop #shoegaze
#animals : #marineinvertebrates #seaotters #orcas #trailcamphotos