Alaskan Sea Otters Becoming Meal of Choice For Hungry Wolves
In the Pacific Northwest area of the US, sea otters have been increasingly turning up as a food source for hungry wolves. Recent sightings of wolves preying on sea otters have stunned nature watchers around Alaska and the Canadian coast.
What’s Behind the Change?
Scientists are still exploring why wolves may have started to include sea otters in their diet. Potential explanations are as follows:
- Declining Fish Populations: Falling numbers of fish in their habitat may have forced wolves to turn to new food sources, including sea otters.
- Increased Human Fishing Activity: Intense commercial fishing operations in areas with both wolves and sea otters may have diminished the fish population, forcing wolves to switch to other prey like sea otters.
- Climate Change: Rising water temperature caused by global warming could have shifted the dietary habits of sea otters, making them more appealing prey for wolves.
What This Could Mean for Sea Otters
Even if sea otters aren’t the main focus of a wolf’s diet, their numbers could still decline dramatically due to their new status as potential prey.
Researchers continue to monitor the situation, as well as search for ways to protect the sea otters. One possible solution is teaching wolves how to coexist with sea otters, as well as providing them with alternative food sources. Alaskan sea otters are facing a new and unusual threat: hungry wolves.
A recent surge in the wolf population has caused otters in the northern Gulf of Alaska to become the apex predators’ meal of choice, recent research conducted by the Alaska SeaLife Center has found.
The study followed a number of sea otters from a group that historically ranged in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Researchers used radio tracking to determine where the otters foraged, as well as their behavior and mortality risk.
The research revealed that wolf predation, as well as other natural predation, was the leading cause of mortality for the sea otters.
Researchers believe that the wolf population link could explain why the sea otters have not returned to all of their historic range in the northern Gulf during recent decades.
While wolves have traditionally preyed on otters, the population surge has put a strain on their food sources, and otters have become the new favored prey. Worse still, sea otters are slow breeders and do not reproduce in large numbers, so their numbers are not as easily replenished.
The study’s findings come as worrying news for the conservation of sea otters around the globe, as they are an important part of the greater food web, and serve to keep populations of species like kelp and sea urchins in check, as well as provide essential habitat structure.
Steps must now be taken to ensure the protection of these delicate and essential creatures. Focusing on measures to restrain and control wolf populations, as well as protect otter habitats and foraging grounds, could be key in preserving sea otter populations for years to come.
