Otters are an “ecological canary in the coal mine,” Island said. Category Sea Otter Legislation, Sea Otter Threats, Southern Sea Otter H.R. The Alaskan sea otter population numbered more than 100,000 in the 1980s. Natural History: Sea otters have extremely thick fur. ... and there are a few theories as to why; many of them — fishing, pollution, boat accidents — implicate humans. A 2013 study found that in England, exposure to persistent organic pollutants in rivers was linked to decreased otter penis sizes, potentially due to the toxins’ ability to disrupt hormonal functioning. Sea otter populations in the North Pacific were decimated by the fur trade of the 18 th and 19 th century, and continue to recover and re-occupy historical habitat. Scientists at the aquarium found, unsurprisingly, that if they were reared by humans, the otters would become attached to them. Sea otter pups can become stranded from their mothers when the moms get wounded or the pups wash away in strong currents. How a sea otter superpower helps protect the oceans against climate change. Certain compounds found in crude are known to decrease or affect some animals’ reproductive process. Also contributing to the demise of the sea otter is pollution. An edited version of a bill that would have detrimental effects on sea otters has passed the Natural Resources Committee and is now headed to the House floor for a vote as an amendment to H.R. Sea otter numbers have declined in southwestern Alaska over the past 20 years. 4043 strips federal protections for sea otters in Southern California. The same toxins could be having the same effect on people’s penises, too. This isn’t the first study to find that pollution is, uh, disrupting otters’ penile function. The Monterey Bay Aquarium provides them with surrogates. According to The Telegraph, scientists from the Cardiff University Otter Project and the Chemicals, Health and Environment Monitoring Trust have been monitoring the otter population for many years, and this month published a report based on 755 otters that died between 1992 and 2009. Population. Otters are Dying Out as Pollution is Giving Them 'Limp' Penises, Humans to Blame Image credits: Reuters. Once containing more than half of the world’s sea otters, this population segment, which ranges from Kodiak Island through the western Aleutian Islands, has undergone an overall population decline of at least 55–67 percent since the mid-1980s. Sometimes sea otter pups get separated from their moms. Marine pollution seems to be why populations of the California subspecies of sea otter have not rebounded to the extent their relatives to the north have. Environmental pollutants are having a peculiar effect on the penis bones of river otters in Canada. The modern sea otter that we know today (Enhydra lutris) first evolved in Russia, and later spread through the mainland of Alaska and down the North American Coast. In a new study, published in the journal Chemosphere, scientists in … Estimates put the number of hairs per square inch at about one million (Cohn 1998) while dogs only have about 60,000 hairs per square inch. Through studying the otters, she can learn about pollution in the surrounding watershed. Since the 1990s, the southwestern stock of Alaskan sea otters has experienced a dramatic (up to 70% population) decline, most likely due to increased predation by killer whales. Surrounding watershed as to why ; many of them — fishing, pollution, boat sea otter pollution implicate. Otter Threats, Southern sea otter superpower helps protect the oceans against climate...., she can learn about pollution in the surrounding watershed new study, published in the surrounding.... 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