Things You'll Need:
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Step 1
Learn to recognize a sea otter. Roughly four feet long, the males weigh approximately 65 pounds with females at about 45 pounds. Considered the second smallest sea mammals, otters are technically in the weasel family. Unlike other sea mammals, they do not have an insulating layer of fat to keep them warm in the cold ocean water so they have developed extremely thick fur with almost 600,000 hairs per square inch to protect them from freezing. The animals have a strong sense of smell and good eyesight both above and below the water. They use their whiskers to sense vibrations in the water and have an excellent sense of touch. Their external ears give them superior hearing abilities.
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Step 2
Know that the sea otter is one of the few animals to use tools. Rocks, shells, or man-made objects are utilized to pry out prey from rocks and are also used as hammers and anvils. Otters eat 25 to 50 percent of their body weight a day. They must eat a lot in order to maintain a high metabolism. Their dietary staples include clams, squid, mussels, crabs, sea urchins, sea stars, abalone, octopus and fish. Although they can dive up to 180 feet while foraging, an average dive takes them about 60 feet below and they stay down for thirty to ninety seconds. Using their paws to stash the food in the baggy pockets of skin under their forelegs, they surface then retrieve and consume their meal.
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Step 3
A sea otter rests while wrapped up in kelp.Look for sea otters in large congregations called rafts along the Central California coast. Wrapped in long fronds of dark green kelp they float close together. Males will form groups of their own separate from the females and pups. Rafts vary in size with some numbering in the hundreds. Sea otters don't need to gather together for protection. They do it because they enjoy socializing.
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Step 4
A raft of sea otters.Be aware that breeding takes place throughout the year and otter mating is often a painful process for the females since males hold onto their mates by gripping their noses in their teeth. Rarely fatal, the wounds can be severe and leave females with scarred noses, which do make gender identification easier for scientists. Thanks to delayed implantation, females give birth to a single pup anywhere from January to March. Mothers solely care for the young carrying them around on their bellies while paddling.
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Step 1
Use binoculars and search the waters outside of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and you should spot sea otters feeding. All otters have strong canine teeth for tearing food with flat molars for crushing it. They use their flattened tail and flipper-like hind feet for propulsion; their forepaws have retracting claws that are similar to a cat's. An otter's lung size is two and a half times the size of similarly sized land mammals.
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Step 2
Search the ocean off the cliffs of Big Sur to the south of Monterey. Use binoculars and look for them wrapped in the abundant kelp beds. Further south stops at pull outs along Highway 1 in the San Simeon area are also good places to look for sea otters as are Leffingwell Landing and Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria.
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Step 3
Find sea otters in the interior bay waters at Morro Bay. Small groups of sea otters raft up near the mouth of the harbor by Morro Rock and you can spot individual otters from restaurant windows along the waterfront. Kayak and canoe excursions into the back bay area often turn up close visits with sea otters.
