GOOD NEWS! The population of California sea otters is down to 2700 and falling rapidly. With any luck at all, they will soon be extinct!
The little varmints are the primary cause of the virtual decimation of abalone along the California coast. Abalone are sea otters favorite, and often only, food source and unlike us humans who have to observe a size limit that varies from 5 to 7 inches across, last time I looked, the damned otters take anything from half an inch in diameter on up.
The idea of taking only the larger abalone is that they must first reach a size where they can have bred and made new little abalone for a few years first, thus ensuring future generations. The cute and lovable sea otters don’t concern themselves with notions of future starvation, and eat miles and miles of coastline into abalone extinction.
What that has accomplished is the utter destructon of a once-thriving abalone seafood industry. Before the rat-like sea-going weasles called otters became protected from fur trappers, there were otters and there were otter furs and there were lots of abalone to eat for us people. Not any more. The damn things eat themselves nearly into extinction from starvation and so far have repeatedly returned with Federal help, to destroy the abalone that escaped them the last time.
This time I hope we see the last of them. The gluttonous little bastards have used up all their Darwin credits. It’s time for them to go.
2700 ??? A single sea otter must consume a vast number of Abalone to make a difference so I suspect this is just another case of man consuming 95% of a resource and then blaming other species for taking 5%. How many more Abalone would there be if Californians became extinct? we need to know to make an informed decision.
Maybe you should thank them if this is correct:
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2006/02/research.html
PS Shellfish taste quite revolting anyway.
Ahh man, your taste isn’t even in your mouth. Where did it go? Shellfish are wonderful eating.
Sea otters do in fact consume massive amounts of shellfish and do in fact stay in one area until that area is totally devoid of food. Only then do they move on to the next one, leaving a barren, virtually sterile as far as shellfish are concerned, chunk of shoreline. This is how they’ve managed to kill off an entire coastline of it’s abalone.
Abalone have always been restricted, there are seasons and limits and Californians have never been the problem. Otters are the problem.
Cute predators suck. One raccoon that gets into a henhouse will kill every bird in it. I had this happen twice, losing 200 hens each time to one lousy raccoon, that left the dead birds where they were killed. Raccoons kill for the love of it. The only good raccoon is a flat one on the road and I feel the same way about otters.
I don’t post stuff that’s bullshit, Xogg. If otters were only destroying just 5% I’d say so.