Thomas D. Williams, DVM; Lewis Henderson; Patrick Harr; Julie Hymer; Gerard
Issvoran
Nutritional requirements for the California Sea Otter have been evaluated
based on an examination of dietary needs established for captive otters and a comparison to
observations of wild otter consumption. The study is based on inputs from 6 captive otter
facilities and observations along the coastal regions of California and Alaska. The study
concludes that additional data is needed to complete the assessment but that most facilities
are providing more food to otters than appears to be necessary for captive otter
maintenance.