Off CA Coast, "Incredibly Low" Numbers Of Sea Otter Pups This Year Discouraging Biologists

[hatrack]

ELKHORN SLOUGH -- The number of sea otters off California's coast is down slightly this year, and a dramatic dip in the population of pups has some scientists extremely concerned.

"The number of pups was incredibly low, and pups are the future," said Steve Shimek, executive director of The Otter Project in Monterey. "If you don't have pups, you don't have a ton of future."

Annual numbers released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey show that the estimated number of southern sea otters off the West Coast has dropped to 2,711, down 3.6 percent from 2009. But the number of otter pups is off 11 percent at 267, the lowest since 2003, when it was 235.

Scientists say the low pup count likely is linked to last winter's heavy storms and smaller beds of kelp offshore. While the 2009-10 El Niño winter was harsher than normal, Shimek said global warming is expected to deliver similar storms more often. "What we have here is apparently more proof that tough winters are tough on otters," Shimek said. "The tough winters are going to increase. That's the prediction."

EDIT

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15673603