Southern Sea Otter with gull

Cause of decline. Historically, sea otters numbered between 150,000 and 300,000 worldwide. But due to the fur trade, numbers plummeted to just 1,000-2,000 in the early 1900s, scattered in remnant populations along the North Pacific rim. The sea otter population off California’s coastline, once about 16,000 animals, was reduced to one of these tiny remnants. This outpost of survivors has slowly grown, from about 50 individuals in the early 1900s to approximately 3,000 today.