Their cuteness makes them a star attraction wherever they are. But it may not be long before Japanese aquarium visitors find there are no sea otters left to see.
The global otter population
The sea otter (enhydra lutris) is more than just an adorable-looking marine mammal. Environmentally, it’s considered a keystone species. Sea otters cull sea urchin populations, which prevent the urchins from decimating kelp forest ecosystems on sea floors.
Unfortunately, this key species is in danger of disappearing from the planet entirely. Humans hunted otters aggressively for their fur from the 18th century to the top of the 20th. That culled the world population from between 150,000 to 300,000 down to a mere 1,000 to 2,000.
Today, environmental threats such as oil spills also endanger the otter populations. The loss of kelp canopies due to environmental degradation or invasive species can also rob otters of their food supply.
Otters are now declared endangered worldwide. Governments and conversation groups are both working tirelessly to reintroduce otter populations to environments they once used to inhabit. The work is slow but has met with some success.
Japan’s aquariums are down to three otters
The move to declared sea otters endangered has led to their practical disappearance from aquariums in Japan.
Aquariums imported the first otters to Japan in 1982. At their peak, there were 122 across the country. However, in 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the species endangered.
Japan’s aquariums have been unable to import additional otters since then. As a result, natural attrition has taken the country’s population from 122 down to a mere three.
To combat the decline, aquariums have tried to increase Japan’s sea otter population through breeding. The male and female otters in Fukuoka’s Marine World conceived and were going to be proud parents. Sadly, Mana, the mother, got sick; neither she nor her baby survived.
Mana’s death brought Japan’s otter population down from four to three: Riro (male) in Marine World, and Kira and Mei (both female) in Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie Prefecture. Since the animals live in different facilities in different prefectures, breeding has proven impossible.
Thankfully, the sea otter population in the wild is improving – even in Japan. A small group of otters in Kiritappumisaki in Hokkaido appears to be thriving. Spotters have even caught footage of a mother with her baby.
You won’t see any of these otters in aquariums anytime soon, however. Experts say there still aren’t enough in the wild to justify removing them from their natural habitat. And Japan has no defined legal procedures or criteria for capturing an animal that’s considered endangered.
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Sources
【ピンチ】国内飼育はわずか3頭に 水族館からラッコが消える？ NTV
Listed as threatened since 1977. The Otter Project
人気者ラッコ、いまや国内わずか４頭…高齢で繁殖絶望的・絶滅危惧で輸入規制. Yomiuri Shimbun
