https://wildlife.blog/tags/big-sur-california/Recent content in Big Sur, California on Wildlife.blogHugoen-usMon, 07 Sep 2026 17:17:44 +0000https://wildlife.blog/posts/sea-otter-in-big-sur-california-they-were-hunted-n/Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:17:44 +0000https://wildlife.blog/posts/sea-otter-in-big-sur-california-they-were-hunted-n/<p><strong>Southern sea otter</strong> <em>(Enhydra lutris nereis)</em></p> <p>The densest fur of any animal, and the reason they were almost wiped out. Hunted relentlessly for the fur trade in the 1700s and 1800s, the California population was presumed extinct by the early 1900s — until a small raft of about 50 otters was discovered off Bixby Creek in 1938, right along this stretch of Big Sur coastline.</p> <p>Every southern sea otter alive today descends from that group. They’re still listed as threatened, but they’ve slowly repopulated the central coast, and Big Sur remains one of the best places to see them wrapped in kelp like this one.</p>