6 days ago · In essence, orcas can be a keystone predator impacting sea otter behavior, distribution, and the wider ecosystem. The most obvious way orcas affect sea otters is through direct predation.

3 days ago · It has been suggested that orcas played a substantial role in the sea otter decline in Alaska in the 1990s. The observed increase in orca predation on otters coincided with the rapid decrease in the sea otter population in this region, highlighting the profound impact that this predator-prey dynamic can have.

Mar 5, 2025 · In specific regions, orcas have been implicated in the decline of sea otter populations. Particularly in Alaska during the 1990s, it was suggested that increased orca predation played a significant role in the sudden drop in sea otter numbers.

The report “Killer whale predation on sea otters: Linking oceanic and nearshore systems” by James A. Estes et al. (16 Oct. p. 473) poses an intriguing explanation for the recent precipitous decline of sea otters in the Aleutian Islands. This crash began in the early 1990s, in the same year as one of the first confirmed sightings of a killer ...

After nearly a century of recovery from overhunting, sea otter populations are in abrupt decline over large areas of western Alaska. Increased killer whale predation is the likely cause of these declines.

6 days ago · Research has estimated that a single killer whale could consume over 1800 otters per year. This high consumption rate highlights the significant role orcas can play in regulating otter populations and underscores the fragility of the marine ecosystem when major predator populations alter their feeding patterns.

I knew that there were 8,000 otters in Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. But five years later, they are almost all gone. ♪ Why are otters important?

Sep 29, 2023 · Scientists in Russia discovered seven perfectly intact sea otters in the belly of a beached orca, according to a new study. The doomed killer whale was found far from its normal hunting...

Sep 21, 2022 · USGS researchers had observed several killer whales, also known as orcas, attacking sea otters around this time, something they hadn’t seen in prior years of research. They suggested that predation by orcas might be the cause.

Oct 7, 2021 · But sea otters in parts of the Aleutian Islands, an archipelago stretching from the Alaska Peninsula off the southwestern end of the state all the way to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, were relatively insulated from fur trade harvesters due to the remoteness and inhospitable nature of the area.