Sea otters face multiple anthropogenic threats including entanglement in fishing gear, oil contamination, and shark bite injuries. Wildlife rehabilitation centres play a critical role in treating and releasing injured individuals while conservation efforts address root causes.
Oiled sea otters experience progressive hypothermia as their fur loses insulating function, combined with toxic ingestion from grooming contaminated fur. Entangled individuals suffer traumatic limb injuries, chronic stress, and often drown before they can be rescued. Rehabilitation requires warm, clean tank facilities, expert tube-feeding, meticulous fur cleaning with dish soap, and careful reintroduction to cold water. Long-term monitoring of released otters tracks survival and reproduction rates. Prevention through modified fishing gear — pop-up escape systems on crab pots — reduces entanglement mortality with minimal economic impact on fishers.