Sea otter crossing Jetty Rd  photo from a video by Natalie Uomini

A car would, at first thought, seem an unlikely hazard for a marine mammal. In our desire for access to the once rugged, wild places near the ocean, we have made a formidable foe of our vehicles for some of the sea-going mammals that spend time on the shore. Sea lions, elephant seals, and yes, a much-loved sea otter, have met their death in encounters with vehicles. Why did the sea otter cross the road? The answer to this iconic children's riddle, "To get to the other side" is the truth, in part. A sea otter might cross the road to get to the other side, where some needed resource—prey, mates, a safe place to rest—beckons with enough urgency to draw a heavy weasel, built for a life in the sea, to find its land legs.

In the coastal town of Moss Landing, California, there are two places where sea otters are known to venture onto and across paved roads to travel between resources. At both locations, sea otters are able to cross from one side to the other via man-made tidal culverts that pass beneath the roadway, but some circumstances---very low tides, rushing currents, or the tide-regulated closure of culvert gates---may force the otter to resort to crossing the road to return to a resting spot or to get access to a foraging area. 

Sea otter foraging on clams in Moro-Cojo Slough Along a narrow section of Jetty Road near the entrance to Moss Landing State Beach, sea otters have long been observed crossing between the north harbor and the neighboring Bennett Slough, where a small number find habitat for foraging and resting. Opportunistic observations by sea otter biologists indicate that during ebb tides, when the current is too strong for a sea otter to swim successfully against it through the culverts, and low tides, when the culverts contain little or no water, a sea otter may cross on the road, where they are at risk of being struck by passing vehicles. There is also evidence that they cross during high, or even King Tide conditions, so it is clear more research is needed to better understand road crossing behavior. This uncertainty need not preclude action.  Recently sea otter researcher Natalie Uomini captured footage of a sea otter crossing Jetty Road. This dramatic video underscores how a split second may mean the difference between a dead or injured sea otter and one safely at home in the slough. Slow and vigilant driving is essential for preventing a tragedy. 

Video by Natalie Uomini

Sea otter crossing sign at Jetty Road in Moss LandingIn July of 2016, a male sea otter famous for making his home in the south harbor of Moss Landing, near the popular Whole Enchilada restaurant, was struck and killed on Moss Landing Road by a vehicle. He had been returning to the harbor after a nighttime foraging bout in Moro-Cojo Slough. The tragic death of "Mr. Enchilada" prompted management authorities and the local community to come together to take steps to prevent a reoccurrence. Monterey County Public Works instituted a speed limit reduction at the Moss Landing Road crossing and placed signs warning drivers of sea otter crossing activity. They were the first traffic signs of their kind, and the image of a walking sea otter had to be custom-designed. A few months later, in response to concerns that traffic had been little slowed by the signs, Public Works installed a well-marked speed table. The worldwide first of a sea otter crosswalk attracted media interest and garnered praise for Public Works. The Jetty Road crossing, which is under the jurisdiction of California State Parks, is now also marked by signs, and additional measures to reduce vehicle speed were recently installed under a grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy CA Sea Otter Fund.

Speed table at Moss Landing Road

We have dissected so many wild places with our roads, with little consideration for the less visible trails and pathways made by our non-human neighbors. In the case of sea otters, warning drivers and slowing the vehicles on the road surface seem like a minimum first step. The best solution would be to keep them off the roadways entirely by making space for travel corridors beneath. This next step will require research on sea otter crossing behavior, well-informed design, public will, and significant funding—but considering the ecological and financial rewards that sea otters bring to our communities, isn’t it only right that we help sea otters find safe passage through our road infrastructure as they travel their own pathways to the places where they forage and rest? 

Many agenecies, organizations, and community members work together to continue to make the roads of Moss Landingsafe for sea otters. Along with Monterey County Public Works, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, California State Parks, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Moss Landing residents, Defenders of Wildlife, and Sea Otter Savvy are all insturmntal in the Sea Otter Xing (SOX) project. You can do your part by slowing down at SOXs and driving with caution anywhere wildlife must cross roads. 

 A mother sea otter eats a mussel while pup swims nearby. Photo by Joe Tomoleoni

By Joe Tomoleoni

Sea otters are many things: apex predators, keystone species, a conservation success story, and for photographers… a highly sought after and engaging photo subject.  It’s easy to see why people love otters and why photographers love to take their pictures.  They are expressive, beautiful, and intelligent subjects.  And of course, few images have the ability to “break the internet” like a fuzzy newborn otter pup.  In reality, otters can be an extremely difficult species to photograph.  Here are some tips that will help you come away with memorable sea otter images:

Where, When, and How

You can find otters in or around kelp forests along the rocky outer coast.  This is a dramatic and scenic habitat, but otters are generally too far away to effectively photograph from shore.  Otters also utilize bays, estuaries, and harbors.  Not only do these protected waters give you a better chance of getting within photographic range, but the calmer waters make for easier photography.  

For otters close to the coast or in protected waters, you may be able to shoot from the shoreline.  This is my preferred method since it allows me to setup my rig on a tripod, sit, and wait.  For otters that are further away, you may need to shoot from a vessel.  Whale watching boats or wildlife tour boats often cater to photographers and generally do a good job of finding your subject while still maintaining a safe distance.  Kayaking is also very effective at getting you out to the otters.  Just remember to protect your gear from the saltwater, and to maintain a respectful distance.

Gear

If your plan is to photograph sea otters with your smartphone, you should go to your local zoo or aquarium.  If you’re close enough to a wild otter to get a good camera phone pic – you’re way too close!  Any DSLR camera body will do, though choosing a body with a cropped sensor will give you more “pixels on subject” than a full frame sensor.  As is usually the case with wildlife photography, the glass you use is more important than the camera body.  You’ll need a sharp telephoto lens.  There’s no such thing as too long a lens when photographing wild otters.  Use the longest lens in your bag.  My go-to lens is the Canon 500mm L f4, and I often pair it with a 1.4x teleconverter to maximize my reach.  If you’ve got a 600mm or 800mm telephoto lens in your kit, even better.  When shooting from shore, I love setting up on a sturdy tripod with a gimbal head.  On boats, tripods are useless so be aware that it may be difficult to handhold a very long lens like a 800mm while bouncing up and down in the waves.  You may be better off with a mid-length telephoto like a 400mm when shooting from a boat.  A pair of binoculars is a useful piece of kit for scouting areas and looking for otters.

 Techniques and Tips

The techniques used for sea otter photography are much the same as those used when photographing any terrestrial mammals.

1. Become a keen observer and study sea otter behavior.  This is best tip I can give you, the one that will get you the money shot.  Do your homework.  Don’t just hop out of the car and start clicking away at the nearest furry critter.  Watch the otters, learn their habits, and be patient.  Almost every great otter image I’ve made came as a result of sitting quietly in one spot for a long period of time.

Two young males sparring. Photo by Joe Tomoleoni

2. Blend in.  Become part of the shoreline.  Go slow and stay low to the ground.  Avoid unnecessary movement.  Not only will you be rewarded with some great otter encounters, but all sorts of other wildlife will also come within range while you wait.

3. Watch your exposure.  Sea otter fur can be very dark.  I usually dial in +1/3 to +1 stops of exposure compensation to correctly expose for the otter’s fur.  Sometimes this means the water gets overexposed, but that’s ok.  The subject is the otter so that’s what you want to get right.

Using a stone anvil to crack mussel prey. Photo by Joe Tomoleoni

4. Look for unique compositions.  The profile of an otter on the surface is long and thin, and as a result, leaves a lot of negative space in traditional compositions.  Look for different angles or body positioning to combat this problem.  Try shooting tight portraits where you just get the head, shoulders, and forepaws of the otter in the frame.  These tight crops are often very effective compositions because they fill the frame better and they focus on the expressive face of the otter.  Don’t cut the otter off mid-body.  One of the golden rules of people photography is to avoid cutting off the feet – so mind the flippers too!  Mid-body crops are awkward.  Crop for a tight portrait or else include the entire otter.

5. Don’t always fill the frame.  The exception here is if you’re shooting a portrait.  Otherwise, give the otter “room to breathe” in your composition.  Don’t crop the image so that the head and tail are right up at the edges of the frame.  Shoot from further away and incorporate some habitat (surface water, kelp bed, etc.) into the shot for a more pleasing environmental composition.

Foraging on a clam in Elkhorn Slough. Photo by Joe Tomoleoni

6. Get low.  If you can shoot from the water level you’ll be rewarded with a nicely isolated subject and some smooth, creamy bokeh.7. Capture interesting behaviors.  Otters do some really cool things.  Grooming behaviors can make for great shots.  A personal favorite of mine is foraging behavior.  Otters feed on dozens of different invertebrates, and a great image of an otter doing battle with an octopus or Dungeness crab is much more interesting than yet another sleeping otter picture.

A Word on Ethics

All photographers want to come away from their shoot with a great photo, but it’s important to remember that these are wild animals and must be treated with respect.  Sea otters are living on a razors edge, so any harassment, even unintentional harassment, could cause them a great deal of stress.  Not only is it unethical to disturb or harass sea otters during a photo shoot, it’s also illegal.  Sea otters are protected by both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, and any disturbance could be a violation of these laws.  Maintain a respectful distance at all times.  If the otter is frequently looking at you, then you’re probably too close.  If your actions or presence cause any noticeable change in behavior, back off.  No photo is worth harassing even a single otter.  Always remember to respect the nap!

All photographs in this article by Joe Tomoleoni. For more tips, tricks, and otter pics, as well as nature and wildlife photography, check out ecoexposurephotography.com or follow @ecoexposurephotography on Instagram and Facebook 

Friends of the Sea Otter is an advocacy group dedicated to actively working with state and federal agencies and other groups to maintain, increase, and broaden the current protections for the sea otter, a species currently protected by state and federal laws, and with two geographic protections on the Endangered Species list. We wish to inspire the public at large about the otters’ unique behavior and habitat and to take action to fully recover this remarkable species. 

By Cassie Pais, guest writer from Friends of the Sea Otter

History

FSO founder, Margaret OwingsFriends of the Sea Otter (FSO) was founded by Margaret Owings, a well-respected conservationist, and Dr. Jim Mattison, an avid outdoorsman, in 1968. Mrs. Owings was instrumental in establishing environmental policy to benefit the sea otter. She spoke to legislators in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. and she rallied scientists, conservationists, educators, and friends to embrace FSO’s mission. Meanwhile, Dr. Mattison utilized his considerable medical knowledge to help in the biological research of otters. He turned his scuba diving hobby into a treasure trove of sea otter pictures, information, and data, and he helped develop a curriculum for teachers, produced a film about otters, and was instrumental in establishing FSO as an otter and otter habitat resource organization. Together, Mrs. Owings and Dr. Mattison transformed FSO from a small, grassroots effort to one of the most well-known and respected sea otter advocacy organizations in the world.

What Do We Do

FSO has been instrumental in securing protections for the sea otter that have allowed for significant population growth. When FSO was founded in 1968, the population size of the southern sea otter was only about 650. FSO and partner organizations have fought to restore the sea otter’s habitat and restrict hunting, exploitative fishing and shellfishing practices, and other forms of disturbance that hinder population growth. Due to these successful efforts, the southern sea otter population has significantly increased in number and now includes over 3,200 otters today!

FSO’s major accomplishments include:

• Testifying in Washington, D.C. during the enactment and subsequent reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protections Act, and played a major role in the formulation of these laws. FSO also contributed to the listing of the southern sea otter as a “threatened species.”
• Playing a pivotal role in achieving state bans on gill netting within the shallow waters of the sea otter range.
• Reducing the oil spill risk to the California sea otter population and its coastal environment.
• Collaborating with partner groups for nearly 25 years to secure the end to the No-Otter Zone and the translocation program, which was eliminated officially in January 2013, and intervening as a defendant against a lawsuit by the fishing industry seeking to reinstate zonal management.
• Working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and partner groups to promote the California Sea Otter Fund, the tax check off that appears on California state income tax 540 forms.
• Supporting scientific research on important issues related to sea otter conservation.
• Serving a key role in developing the sea otter recovery plan and helping achieve its recommended actions.

FSO remains a leading voice in sea otter advocacy today. While FSO is thrilled with the progress that has been made, the sea otter continues to face a host of challenges and barriers to full recovery. Between incidents of harassment, limited range expansion, and habitat degradation as a result of pollution and climate change, FSO knows there is plenty of critical work ahead. We will continue to work with on-the-ground partners, including Sea Otter Savvy, to educate the public on sea otter behavior, conservation issues, and the impact of human disturbance. In addition, we will continue to work with federal, state, and local policy makers to establish and maintain protections for sea otters and their habitat.

As a relatively small organization with a large impact, we count on the dedicated support of our members, donors, and volunteers to get things done. To learn more about FSO, go to www.seaotters.org or contact Cassie Pais at . Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay involved! 

 Sea Otter Savvy to proud to partner with Friends of the Sea Otter to protect California's sea otters!