I recently did a road trip along the California coast and I thought others might benefit from my legwork to find the best places to spot wild sea otters. California sea otters nearly went extinct in the early 1900’s due to hunters wanting their soft fur, and later the animal officially became an endangered species. Their numbers are very slowly improving now with about 2,700 known to exist in California. These are the places I found to be the best for spotting the adorable, furry creatures:
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Moss Landing (20 miles north of Monterey where you can also take boat tours to see the wildlife)
Fisherman’s Wharf Monterey
Morro Bay between Morro Rock and Coleman Park
Monterrey Bay Aquarium ocean view deck
Lovers Point in Pacific Grove
Point Joe on the 17-Mile Drive Monterey Peninsula
For the highlight of my otter spotting trip, at Moss Landing I watched a sea otter groom his flippers, wash his hair, rub his belly and then drift to sleep for naptime. What a life. Watch my video of his adorable otter antics here!
See Wild California Sea Otters on Live Web Cameras:
Elkhorn Slough California Live Sea Otter Cam
Monterey Bay Live Ocean Cam
Animal Planet Live: California Sea Otter Cam
Watch Aquarium Sea Otters on Live Web Cameras:
Vancouver Aquarium Live Otter Cam
Monterrey Bay Aquarium Live Otter Cam
Clearwater Marine Aquarium Live Otter Cam
Seattle Aquarium Live Otter Cam
New PBS Special Features California’s Sea Otters:
This week began the first US airing of Big Blue Live, a 3-part TV series from PBS and BBC showcasing the animals and ecosystems of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary off the California coast. The series has been met with overwhelming support across social media and in case you missed it, the full episodes of Big Blue Live are also streaming on the PBS website: Watch Big Blue Live.
