Sea Otters

[ysabetwordsmith]

Scientists celebrate as sea otters devour invasive creatures: 'This is one of the first pieces of good news we’ve gotten'

Sea otters are making great strides toward recovery in California, and new research shows that their growing numbers are directly correlated with the decline of one of the most invasive species in the marine world: the dreaded green crab.


[---8<---]
The research team estimated that sea otters local to the region eat 120,000 green crabs a year.

It’s an essential job, given that green crabs are aggressive predators that habitually outcompete native species and decimate fields of seagrass.
[---8<---]
To stay warm and well-fed in freezing waters, sea otters eat nearly a quarter of their body weight in food every day — and their diet is not just limited to crabs. Sea otters also snack on sea snails, clams, mussels, fish, and sea urchins.

The last item on the menu is especially important, as sea urchins are densely overpopulated and capable of destroying entire kelp forests — carbon-capturing canopies that are vital to ocean health.


This is indeed one of the few pieces of good news I've heard about the environment. Yay, otters!


These are some organizations that support sea otters. Donate and/or volunteer here to help sea otters and reduce both green crabs and sea urchins.

The Otter Project

Sea Otter Foundation & Trust

Sea Otter Recovery Fund
 

Comments

Yay

[daryl_wor]

I love otters. I have an old dream of writing a prequel to Wind In The Willows that focuses on the otter character, though the main ones I've seen are sea otters.

Re: Yay

[ysabetwordsmith]

Go for it!

I love otters too, both river and sea. The giant ones are interesting, and there used to be lion-sized ones.

Re: Yay

[daryl_wor]

Phew, gotta get better first. I have a tiny bit put together already. Grahame's style is frightfully hard to acclimate to, but I have a few decent pages prepared. Ooo I remember those big guys on a nature show yaars ago. Massive! Thanks!

Re: Yay

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Phew, gotta get better first. I have a tiny bit put together already. Grahame's style is frightfully hard to acclimate to, but I have a few decent pages prepared.<<

You might try working with smaller pieces first, and build up to longer ones. That works well when it's the style and tone you're aiming to match. Short stories or drabbles are good. You could also do vignettes, just trying to describe something, such as a nature scene, in that style.

Remember Toad and the motorcar? Think about what would mesmerize an otter the same way. An aquarium? Would it be like a television or a refrigerator, or both? A backyard swimming pool, perhaps with a slide? A game or toy that came out during that approximate time period?

>> Ooo I remember those big guys on a nature show yaars ago. Massive! Thanks! <<

:D They are fun to watch.

Re: Yay

[goatgodschild]

Suggested reading: Tarka the Otter (1927). More naturalistic than Grahame, but useful for period knowledge of river otter life, with a similar audience.

Re: Yay

[daryl_wor]

Wow, thanks! Goodie, public domain.(Presumably)

Re: Yay

[daryl_wor]

Oh, I meant better = recovered from my mystery disease. (Even typing this is excruciating to navigate). But yes, smaller to larger. The other thing I had (when I was well and able) was listening to an author on repeat and gaining the style that way. With Otter he seems to be pretty straight forward, just getting along, so it would all be prior to Moley entering into the picture, of course, with hints that he might be more sociable later on toward the end. Then mapping out some of the "old memories" that were mentioned in the original but never got explained. ^_^ Figuring out how he had Portly whose mother we never hear about or meet in the original will be the awkward component I am sure.