SEA OTTER


Threatened Sea Otters are the smallest marine mammal in North America, once living along the coastal North Pacific Ocean before fur traders hunted them for their thick, luxurious pelts. The Sea Otter has the finest and densest of any animal fur, which they rely on for insulation as they don't have blubber. They are particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effect of an oil spill. Soiling of the fur allows chilly ocean water to penetrate to the skin causing death. Otters were also found drowning in gill nets. Sea Otter's spend 48% of daylight hours grooming their brown to black fur and they feed on marine invertebrates using tools to pry prey from rocks. They are watchful, charismatic and sleep, rest and swim on their backs. The mother gives birth to a single pup each year and the pups are so bouyant they cannot dive underwater and are seen bobbing beside or resting upon mothers.

A Mediterranean Monk Seal swims near Cabo Blanco Peninsula, home to the largest extant colony of this rare and reclusive pinniped. Along this coastline peninsula in Western Sahara-Mauritania, about 110 Monk Seals inhabit large caves hidden below the shoreline cliffs. These sea caves provide secluded breeding sites, where each female gives birth to one black woolly pup; however winter's oceanic storms bring huge swells and high tides, increasing pup mortality. Monk Seals are especially sensitive to human intrusion, and protection of undisturbed habitat is vital to the survival of this critically endangered species.

The beautiful and gentle Harp Seals have the unfortunate status of annually suffering the largest slaughter of any marine mammal species on the planet. The exploitation and commercial slaughter of the Harp Seal is one of the most tragic stories ever known to mankind. Before the advent of "modern technology" and hunting methods, the Harp Seal was an honored animal playing an invaluable role in the very existence of human beings on the eastern seaboard of Canada. Fur, meat, and bone were utilized in every conceivable fashion by the native peoples and were necessary for sustaining daily life in the arctic. Now they are endangered and were once almost extinct, the Harp Seals are rarely found anymore.

The 'Fantasea Collection' wildlife design portrays the beauty of the enchanting, cheeky & inquisitive Sea Otters, the reclusive Monk Seal and the adorable Harp Seal surrounded by bull kelp and some tucker!

Fantasea Collection