Sea Otter, Icy Strait, Alaska #3074

A sea otter chows down on a crab leg from its chest full of Dungeness crabs. Sea otters were almost hunted to extinction by the Russian, American, and British fur traders between 1741 and 1911. Pre-contact populations were estimated at 150,000 to 300,000 animals and by 1911 their numbers had dropped to 1,000-2,000 animals. By that time sea otters were mostly found in the waters around the Aleutian Islands and there were no sea otters in Southeast Alaska. In the late sixties sea otters were reintroduced to the outside coast in Southeast Alaska and their numbers have rebounded well. The waters in Glacier Bay National Park and Icy Strait support a very healthy population. Thank you for visiting and enjoy – Camera: Nikon D850, Lens: Nikkor 80-400mm, Digital Capture, Handheld ©Mark Kelley