Endangered animals
The Sea otter or Kalan (Enhydra lutris) is a large otter native to the North Pacific, from northern Japan and Kamchatka east across the Aleutian Islands south to California. The heaviest of the otters, sea otters are the only species within the genus Enhydra.
Sea otters have been hunted extensively for their luxurious fur – the densest of all mammals with up to 394,000 hairs per square centimeter or up to 1,000,000 hairs per inch. From 1741 onwards, over-hunting reduced sea otter populations to the point of extermination in many parts of their historic range. The population is thought to have been 150,000 to 300,000 historically before the years of the great hunt. It is estimated that a half million to a million otters were killed over time. By 1911, the world population was estimated to be just 1,000–2,000 individuals in 13 colonies. Although several subspecies are still endangered, the otters have since been legally protected. Reintroduction efforts have shown positive results in some areas.