Return of the Sea Otter

January 8, 2018
Sea otters are “remarkable creatures who exert a dramatic positive influence on the health of at least two very different marine ecosystems,” proclaims science writer McLeish (Basking with Humpbacks) in this charming volume that examines the creature’s great popularity with the general public. Early chapters discuss the physical make-up of otters and explore how their “unique physiology and tool use” help them stand out among other mammals. McLeish also looks at the ways in which sea-otter numbers have fluctuated over the past few centuries, primarily due to the huge increase in global demand for their pelts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that nearly led to the creature’s extinction. Subsequent sections of the book recall McLeish’s more recent visits with sea-otter rescuers and researchers along the West Coast. Experiences in Monterey, Calif., home to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, prove especially captivating. He also highlights the significant work done every day by biologists, veterinarians, and volunteers who study sea otter “movement patterns, social interactions, behavior, diet, and reproductive success.” McLeish does well to provide a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal. Color photos.

January 15, 2018
A Rhode Island-based science writer explores the recovery from possible extinction of what may be "the cutest animal on earth."These animals, writes McLeish (Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, 2015, etc.), don't just look cuddly and have a delightful ability to use tools; they also help maintain the marine environment where they live. After their numbers were severely cut by fur trading, the crucial kelp forests where the otters hunted suffered significant damage by sea urchins, the otters' preferred food. With the otters back again, the kelp ecosystems flourished. Sea otters are a well-studied species, and the author devotes chapters to time spent with researchers along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. He sailed out with spotters to count otters, and, in "the most precious fifteen minutes of my year," he observed a rescued otter pup being groomed by an aquarium worker. He attended "necropsies" intended to reveal why otters have died and was appalled to learn how many females are killed during mating. McLeish also considers, though doesn't adopt, the viewpoints of those who consider sea otters "the rats of the sea." Native Americans in Alaska, as well as other fishermen along the northern Pacific coast, are frustrated by the fact that animals left to range by the Marine Mammal Protection Act are devouring the same invertebrates the fishermen would like to harvest and sell. McLeish smoothly integrates background about the animals into his narrative, and he works in details about the history of their interaction with humans over the past few decades. Some of those attempts to save the otters, such as the introduction of surrogate mothers, have succeeded; others, such as relocation, haven't been as successful. The author also explains the complications of the relationships among the various protected marine mammals: in some places, the main enemy of the otters is the killer whale.A cautiously hopeful and well-researched tribute to an animal easy for most humans to love.

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March 1, 2018

McLeish (Narwhals; Basking with Humpbacks) returns to nature writing with this engaging exploration of the once highly threatened sea otters' recovery along the Pacific coast. Chapters jump among Alaska, California, and the Pacific Northwest, documenting the triumphs as well as the struggles faced by each otter population. The book describes how a few key players--along with the sea otters' own scrappy resilience--helped the species revive after being hunted to near extinction, and how modern conservation politics are still shaping their recovery. Though McLeish paints a mostly rosy portrait of the sea otters' comeback, he is also careful to detail what it took to get them here, and how easily it could go wrong for them again if we can't balance the tensions between human and otter activities. Yet, for all its seriousness, this is not a somber book: the chapters on otter behaviors (grooming, napping, and playful exuberance) are delightful, and will have any reader spouting off charming otter facts for days. VERDICT Recommended for anyone interested in natural history, environmental writing, or adorable animals.--Meredith Powers, York Coll., Brooklyn

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2018
Sea otters are the definition of cute. Who hasn't seen a video of a mother otter with her pup resting on her stomach, or groups of otters peeking out of a floating kelp bed? Hunted to near-extinction for their fur (sea otters have the densest fur of any known animal), the rebounding of their numbers after they were protected is one of conservation's best-known success stories. And yet this very success has made them extremely unpopular with a vocal minority of fishermen, who cannot compete with the otter for the harvesting of a number of commercially important invertebrates. Science writer and author McLeish (Narwhals, 2012) examines all sides of the ecology of the sea otter in this highly entertaining look at an apex predator. Visiting aquariums (the major player is the Monterey Bay Aquarium) and wildlife-rehab centers, McLeish watches and participates in otter necropsies, observes otters dive-fishing for sea cucumbers and geoduck clams, and watches orphaned pups being groomed and introduced to surrogate mothers. A healthy sea-otter population is crucial for a healthy Pacific-coast ecosystem, and the author's enthusiasm for the world's cutest keystone species makes believers of all of us.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)