"We calculated that the current otter population here eats somewhere between 50,000 and 120,000 green crabs a year." Beach invasion: Officials close California beach in Monterey taken over by sea ...

Southern sea otters along the West coast were hunted almost to extinction for their thick, soft fur, only gaining protection in 1913 when California declared them a "fully protected mammal." Even ...

Spectacular sea otters. There's so much more to sea otters than just being cute. While these animals are certainly adorable, they're also vital parts of our ecosystem and possess keen instincts.

Cute, she means. So relentless is sea otter cuteness that people who work all day with them, while not immune to it, can find it exasperating. ... Sea otters eat a lot.

Sea otter pelts were once considered the most valuable in the world. Yet despite unsustainable harvesting that began in the 1700s and lasted until the early 1900s, this marvelous species survived.

Sea otters have charmed the hearts of many with their playful antics and cute eating habits. But you won't find any in the waters of much of Northern California.

Not all surfers were bothered by the cute sea otter’s antics. (Photo by Mark Woodward / Native Santa Cruz) And one man from San Jose had to return his rented surfboard with gashes in it.

A rogue sea otter menacing surfers in Santa Cruz is proving elusive as marine-wildlife experts seek to apprehend it before it bites more than someone’s surfboard. Five-year-old Otter 841 has ...

The first male sea otter arrived in the Elkhorn Slough, 35 miles north of Bixby Cove, in the late 1990s. Only in the early 2000s did females arrive, ... Cute and hungry otters.

Today, the estuary is home to more than 120 otters and is the only one along the West coast that has been significantly colonized by southern sea otters. And they love to eat green crabs.