Sea otters are keystone species of kelp forest ecosystems whose recovery from near-extinction is a conservation success story, yet they continue to face welfare threats from oil spills, shark predation, and infectious disease.
Sea otter welfare intersects with some of the most complex conservation and human-wildlife interface challenges on the Pacific coast. Individual otters that survive shark attacks often suffer from severe bite wounds requiring intensive veterinary rehabilitation. Toxoplasma infection causes fatal encephalitis in otters with no treatment available; prevention requires reducing domestic cat faeces entering coastal waterways — a challenging behavioural change across large populations. Oil contamination strips the insulating properties of otter fur, causing hypothermia in animals that must maintain body temperature in cold Pacific waters without the blubber layer other marine mammals rely on. Despite these threats, sea otter populations represent a remarkable recovery story, demonstrating that conservation interventions can restore severely depleted wildlife populations. Each surviving otter also contributes ecological value through kelp forest maintenance that supports dozens of other species.