The Edge of Extinction: Can sea otters survive the human threat? – Kim Steinhardt

Southern sea otter pup learns how to eat shellfish by mimicking mother's actions, first by manipulating an empty shell (Photo © Kim Steinhardt).

I was hooked the first time I saw a southern sea otter bobbing in the surf off the coast of California’s Big Sur. I didn’t know then that I would be as spellbound by these rare creatures decades later as I was at that very first sighting. And little did I know that I was witnessing the latest act in a continuing saga of survival against all odds and an all too real human threat…