Sea Otter sightings

[madcow41]

I’m doing a wildlife management project for a class I’m in. I was looking for anecdotal accounts of Sea otter sightings in Western Washington. just curious where you guys have been seeing them if you guys have been seeing them and what kind of numbers. This is not official by any means and the information will not be use to draw any statistical conclusions however, the information will be helpful nonetheless.


Thanks.

[morgan]

 Seen otters around where I work. Down on the Tacoma tideflats, Blair waterway, Georgia pacific gypsum to be exact.

[morgan]

I have seen 3 of them bobbing around our dock. Makes my day when I see them.

[jay.sharkbait]

So do river otters in salt count?

[JimmyHoffa]

I've seen them around the rocks by the Port Townsend lighthouse and also along the coast.

[Stein]

There is one that lives around the dock at West Beach Resort on Orcas Island.

[pd]

Here you go.

These things are everywhere.  They especially like to live underneath waterfront homes (I hear they poop a lot, and the mess is very smelly, but I don't have first hand experience with that). 

[branches]

We see them at Sand Point on the coast.

[CP]

I’ve seen them off the East side of Orcas Island and off the West side of Whidbey.  They seem to frequent kelp beds and float around on their backs while eating crabs.

[WSU]

There are plenty in Olympia.

[Cylvertip]

Here you go.

These things are everywhere.  They especially like to live underneath waterfront homes (I hear they poop a lot, and the mess is very smelly, but I don't have first hand experience with that). 

River otter in the video

[Widgeondeke]

Westport, there were 3 fishin along the rocks

[Humptulips]

Yea, those are not sea otter either. River otter spend a lot of time in the salt.
I doubt you are going to be seeing sea otter in the Sound until you get up towards the San Juans and along the coast close to the shore.

[Rob]

I saw groups of 20+ on the west side of tatoosh in 2019.  We would see 2 or three in prior years but the population exploded in the past couple years.


I have photos if you want me to dig them up.

[jay.sharkbait]

Yea, those are not sea otter either. River otter spend a lot of time in the salt.
I doubt you are going to be seeing sea otter in the Sound until you get up towards the San Juans and along the coast close to the shore.

Thats why I asked. I would say anything south of PT would most likely  be a river otter.

[Rob]

Found the photos.

There are several in the zoom-out shot

[Rob]

There are Elephant Seals out there too by the way...

[jamesfromseattle]

I see them pretty regularly bobbing around out off the kelp between Sekiu and Neah Bay.  Usually see at least one or two a day when fishing around there.  Never seen a big group like Rob, though.  Cool critters.