Marine Mammal

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) 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, just down the coast from here. Not so fun fact: they were hunted for that fur. ...

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) The smallest marine mammal in North America, it has the densest fur of any animal — up to a million hairs per square inch — since it has no blubber to keep warm. Year-round resident along the central California coast; Monterey Bay is one of the most reliable places to spot them, often rafting up in kelp beds like this one. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map