Sea Otter Savvy

Sea Otter Savvy We are a nonprofit organization using outreach and research tools to foster a community dedicated to protecting sea otters from human disturbance.

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 b

oth 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!

09/03/2026

🦦🌿 The 2026 Sea Otter Awareness Week logo is here!

Sea Otter Awareness Week | September 20–26, 2026
Each year, Sea Otter Awareness Week brings organizations and communities together to share stories, science, and experiences that deepen awareness of sea otters, their ecological importance, and the challenges they face.

This year’s theme, Rooted in Resilience, celebrates the connections among sea otters, kelp forests, wildlife, and people—and the relationships that help our coastal ecosystems and communities adapt, recover, and thrive.

Our 2026 logo brings that theme to life with a raft of resting sea otters, including a mother and pup, anchored among the kelp. Inspired by iconic WPA National Park posters, the artwork also pays tribute to our National Park System and the enduring value and resilience of protected wild places through changing and challenging times.

A huge thank you to all of our Sea Otter Awareness Week planning partners and collaborators who bring their knowledge, creativity, time, and passion to this celebration each year. Sea Otter Awareness Week truly is a collaborative effort, and we are better together. 💙 Sea Otter Awareness Week is organized and sponsored by Sea Otter Savvy, Defenders of Wildlife, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Marine Mammal Center, the Elakha Alliance, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Wildlife Conservation Network.

🌊 Stay tuned as we share this year’s events, stories, science, and ways to join us for Sea Otter Awareness Week. Calendar of events is now up on the Defenders of Wildlife webpage ( https://defenders.org/sea-otter-awareness-week ), and the viewing station and events map are up on the Sea Otter Savvy website under latest news (https://www.seaottersavvy.org/news/).

🎨 2026 logo designed by Heather Barrett



Defenders of Wildlife Elakha Alliance The Marine Mammal Center Wildlife Conservation Network
Monterey Bay Aquarium
California State Parks
Marine Conservation Institute
Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

San Diego Zoo
Noyo Center for Marine Science

We are so grateful to our partners at the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation for joining us for this special day! 🦦 It was a joy to s...
09/03/2026

We are so grateful to our partners at the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation for joining us for this special day! 🦦 It was a joy to spend time together in Moss Landing and Monterey, sharing knowledge, learning from one another, and of course, spending time with sea otters.

A huge thank you to all of the amazing partner organizations and businesses who helped bring this experience to life—we couldn’t have done it without you!

And stay tuned… we’ll be sharing more from this adventure during Sea Otter Awareness Week! 😉🦦

08/29/2026

🦦 How sea otter savvy are you?

There’s a lot happening in this video. How many sea otter behaviors and other interesting details can you spot?

Filmed from the coastal boardwalk at iconic Asilomar State Beach, these sea otters are rocky-coast specialists, making a living in a wave-pounded world.

Watch closely. 👀

To get you started: What is she eating?

What else do you notice? Drop your observations in the comments—then we’ll follow up with a list of all the cool things we spotted.

🔭 Bonus: Check our Story for the zoomed-out view of where this video was filmed. You might be surprised how much you can see while giving sea otters plenty of space.

08/26/2026

Sometimes it really is hard to be a sea otter biologist on social media. 😬🦦

Why does a video like this bother us so much?

For sea otters, rest is serious business. Their exceptionally high metabolic demands mean they work hard to meet their daily energy needs—and unnecessary disturbance costs energy they can’t afford to waste.

One person waking one resting sea otter may seem insignificant. But at wildlife-viewing hotspots, that same animal may encounter people again and again throughout the day. Those disturbances can add up.

And social media can amplify the problem. Close encounters get clicks, likes, and shares—and viral wildlife content can unintentionally normalize behavior that disturbs the very animals we’re excited to see.

So put on your critical-viewer hat when you scroll. 🧐 Did someone approach wildlife closely to get the shot? Did the animal wake up, become vigilant, move away, or otherwise change its behavior? A great wildlife encounter should happen on the animal’s terms, not ours.

And wherever this particular encounter happened, sea otters have legal protections from harassment or disturbance. In U.S. waters, all sea otters are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act—even populations that are not listed under the Endangered Species Act. In Canadian waters, sea otters are protected from disturbance under Canada’s Fisheries Act and Marine Mammal Regulations.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to everyone who respectfully spoke up in the comments on the original post and tagged us. 💙 That is community stewardship at its best.

Social media may amplify poor wildlife-viewing behavior, but it can amplify good stewardship, too.

Keep speaking up. Keep sharing better examples. And, as always: respect the nap. 🦦💤

08/25/2026

Happy Monday from Sea Otter Savvy! 🦦

Welcome back to another Intern Insight with Dia!

For my internship, I’ve been spending time on the water as an undercover shopper, visiting marine recreation businesses around the Central Coast and paying attention to how they prepare customers to encounter wildlife.

It’s been eye-opening to see how much a few minutes of education can matter. Even when businesses give great wildlife orientations, the excitement of seeing an otter can sometimes lead people to get too close, paddle toward them, or follow them for a better view.

Our excitement about seeing wildlife should never come at the animal’s expense.

That’s why programs like Sea Otter Savvy’s Community Active Wildlife Stewards certification are so important. Supporting businesses that actively commit to responsible wildlife viewing helps make sure that enjoying the coast and protecting the animals who live here go hand in hand!

Learn about CAWS: https://www.seaottersavvy.org/get-sea-otter-savvy-certified

Where was Gena this weekend? 👀🦦If you guessed San Nicolas Island—or the Island of the Blue Dolphins—you were correct!Gen...
08/19/2026

Where was Gena this weekend? 👀🦦

If you guessed San Nicolas Island—or the Island of the Blue Dolphins—you were correct!

Gena joined colleagues on San Nicolas Island, one of California’s Channel Islands, to count the island’s southern sea otters and collect foraging data. Surveys take place four times a year, helping researchers track and monitor this unique population over time.

Southern sea otters were reintroduced to San Nicolas Island between 1987 and 1990 as part of an effort to establish a second population that could help safeguard the species in case of a catastrophic event, such as a major oil spill or disease outbreak.

San Nicolas Island is known for its extraordinary views, unique and endemic wildlife—and, of course, some seriously challenging sea otter spotting! 🔭 These otter spotters are experts.

Want to learn more about the island, its sea otter population, and Gena’s experiences surveying otters there over the years? Check out her four-part blog series, “Sea Otters and the Island of the Blue Dolphins,” linked in our bio and Stories :

Part 1: https://www.seaottersavvy.org/sea-otters-on-the-island-of-blue-dolphins
Part2 : https://www.seaottersavvy.org/sea-otters-on-the-island-of-blue-dolphins-part-2
Part3: https://www.seaottersavvy.org/sea-otters-on-the-island-of-blue-dolphins-part-3
Part4: https://www.seaottersavvy.org/sea-otters-on-the-island-of-blue-dolphins-part-4

1📸 Otter Base
2📸 Otter Spotter Level 10
3📸 The morning view
4📸 Sea otters are there…
5📸 the tracks of the San Nicolas Island Deer Mouse 😍
6📸 elephant seal snooze
7📸 San Nicolas Island fox (only 3-5lbs!)
8📸 that’s a sunrise!
9📸 San Nic and Sea Otter artwork by Gena Bentall ….maybe there’s some one of kind swag to be had?

SeaOtterResearch SeaOtterConservation

08/17/2026

Happy Monday from Sea Otter Savvy! 🦦 Welcome back to Intern Insights with Dia!

What are we really trying to capture when we photograph wildlife?

Photography can be an amazing way to connect people with animals and inspire conservation. But when getting the perfect picture means getting closer, staying longer, or changing an animal’s behavior, our desire to connect can actually become a source of disturbance.

This is something we see in our disturbance data, where we record active use of a camera (DSLR or smartphone) alongside things like distance, approach, and sea otter behavior.

Sometimes the best way to connect with wildlife is to give it space. Give them room, use your zoom.

Where in the world is our Director Gena? Sea Otter Savvy’s director, Gena Bentall, is in the field this weekend at one o...
08/14/2026

Where in the world is our Director Gena?
Sea Otter Savvy’s director, Gena Bentall, is in the field this weekend at one of the most unique sea otter tracking locations. Where do you think she is? Add your guess in the comments and stay tuned for the reveal of this mystery location 😉🦦💙

BODEGA BAY, CA – Sea Otter Savvy and Sonoma County District 5 invite the public to Sea Otters Were Here, a free, family-...
08/12/2026

BODEGA BAY, CA – Sea Otter Savvy and Sonoma County District 5 invite the public to Sea Otters Were Here, a free, family-friendly coastal ecology pop-up at Doran Beach on Saturday, September 12, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Once numbering in the tens of thousands, sea otters were nearly wiped out by the fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, their population remains confined to Central California, leaving northern California’s coast without this keystone species. Sea otters play a vital role in coastal biodiversity—by preying on sea urchins and other grazers, they help kelp forests and seagrass meadows thrive, supporting a rich web of marine life.

The event will feature interactive booths from local science organizations, businesses, and community groups including Sea Otter Savvy, The Marine Mammal Center, Marine Conservation Institute, Defenders of Wildlife, local fishermen and more. Visitors will learn about the history of sea otters in northern California and their connection to resilient coastal ecosystems. Sea Otter Savvy is asking for public input on sea otter recovery in the form of an online survey.

A highlight of the day will be the Sea Otter Sand Castle Competition from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM—fun for creative beachgoers of all ages.

When: Saturday, September 12, 2025 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Sea Otter Mural at Doran Beach, 201 Doran Beach Rd., Bodega Bay, CA
Cost: Free (Note: $7 Parking Fee) | Family-Friendly

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County Regional Parks Defenders of Wildlife The Marine Mammal Center Wildlife Conservation Network Kashia Department of Environmental Planning & Natural Resources Marine Conservation Institute River Otter Ecology Project TIRN UC Davis Marine Science White Abalone Sonoma Land Trust CA Native Plant Society Coastal Ecology & Conservation Russian Riverkeeper

08/11/2026

Welcome back to Intern Insights with Dia! Today I am bringing you along on one of our long-term disturbance monitoring research sessions. Here’s what we’re recording:

🗺️ Date, time & location: When and where observations were made so scientists can compare patterns across seasons, locations, and times of day. Today we are at one of our Elkhorn Slough sites!

🌊Tide: Water levels influence where and when sea otters rest, forage, and access prey.

💨 Wind: Wind affects both sea otter behavior and how easily observers can spot them.

🦦🦦Group size: Identifies each raft of sea otters and records how many animals are within 1 “otter length” of each other—group size is an important variable.

🌾🌱Canopy: Records whether otters are in kelp or eelgrass, which is also an important factor in their activity.

🦦Pup (Large, Small, Absent): Different ages behave differently, and mothers with pups may respond differently to disturbance.

🦦Behavior: Whether a sea otter is resting, feeding, grooming, traveling, or socializing reveals their behavior and level of energy expenditure.

🛶 Stimuli: We record type and number of nearby people, boats, kayaks, paddleboards, wildlife, and other potential sources of disturbances.

📏Distance to the stimulus: Distance helps researchers understand how close an activity can get before sea otter behavior begins to change.

🔭Every observation collected by volunteers contributes to long-term research on sea otter behavior and human disturbance. Researchers, including Sea Otter Savvy Director Gena Bentall, use data like this to understand how sea otters are affected by human activities on the central California coast.

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2370 CA-1
Moss Landing, CA
95039

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