An animated image of a dark brown sea otter with a blonde head diving down from the calm blue water of the ocean and swimming beneath the surface among lush golden fronds of giant kelp.

Dive into the secret world of sea otters! 🦦

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An animated image of a brown sea otter with a blonde face swimming underwater. It pauses while looking around, then continues swimming towards the right, kicking with powerful, big back flippers as small bubbles escape from its nose and fur.ALT
An animated image of the dark silhouette of a sea otter swimming past a towering stalk of giant kelp, pausing, then turning to continue its underwater search in the blue abyss of the ocean.ALT

Teri Nicholson, senior research biologist at Monterey Bay Aquarium, has an otterly important job studying sea otters along the California coast. Southern sea otters are the glue that holds important coastal environments, like kelp forests, together, healthy, and in balance.

An animated image of a woman with brown and grey hair wearing a blue jacket speaking to the viewer. She stands on the back deck of the Aquarium next to a viewing scope on a tripod with the waves of the bay slowly moving in behind her.ALT

A recently published study led by Aquarium researchers amplifies the significant role these mighty mustelids play within kelp forest habitats. By eating the grazers (like abalone and urchins) that eat kelp, sea otters maintain that delicate balance…

An animated image of several spiky purple sea urchins surrounding scraps of giant kelp in emerald-colored waters. This is followed by a closeup of the white plates of an urchin’s mouth taking bites out of golden brown strips of giant kelpALT
An animated image of a sea otter quickly diving from the luminous, blue surface of the ocean to the shadowy, rocky bottom in search of food among the brown kelp and seafloor.ALT
An animated image of a brown sea otter searching for food among brown seaweed on the seafloor. The blonde-faced otter then pulls up a spiky red sea urchin, and clutches it while swimming up and away towards the surfaceALT
A montage of brown sea otters at the sea’s surface banging food items on rocks and other hard surfaces to crack open the shells. One otter in particular is vigorous with their efforts, creating a lot of white splashes in the waterALT

… helping kelp forests—and all those who depend on them—thrive!

An animated image of several golden lush strands of giant kelp rising up from the depths, illuminated by sparkling sunlight and surrounded by fish in clear blue watersALT
An animated image of a decorator crab walking over sand, a turban snail sliding along a blade of golden kelp, and a red octopus slowly crawing over a rock within a kelp forest habitat.ALT
An animated image of a sea otter mom effortlessly bobbing and floating on her back at the surface of the kelp forest with a pup gently resting in her arms.ALT

Dive deeper into the impacts sea otters have on kelp forests in California in our web story!

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