Sea Otter Savvy strives to foster community awareness and involvement to reduce human-caused disturbance to sea otters and promote responsible wildlife viewing.
The beautiful central California coast offers both excellent opportunities for human ocean recreation activities and optimal habitat for sea otters. When the favorite places of both humans and sea otters overlap, interactions between them are inevitable. These interactions can be positive (harmonious for both human and sea otter) or negative (disturbance to sea otters and/or injury to human). As both human and sea otter populations grow, interactions – including disturbance – inevitably increase. One of the first steps toward mitigating negative impacts of these interactions is for humans to recognize the power of their behavioral choices to help or harm.
We at Sea Otter Savvy believe that most disturbance to sea otters is unintentional, motivated not by the intent to do harm but by lack of awareness. Essential to preventing disturbance before it occurs is an understanding of the unique vulnerability of sea otters and the importance of a healthy sea otter population to our coastal ecosystem. Through research, outreach, and education, we hope to increase awareness of the importance of protecting sea otters as part of our coastal community, and inspire everyone sharing the coastal environment with sea otters to adopt responsible viewing guidelines and share them with others.
Together we can create a “sea otter savvy” community promoting responsible wildlife viewing, awareness of the effect our behavior can have on sea otters and other wildlife, and a safer, healthier coastal environment for all of us, otter and human alike. Be sea otter savvy and YOU can make a difference!
Click the image above to watch a video about the CA Sea Otter Fund!
