Eagles may also grab young otters if given the opportunity. The southern sea otter was widely believed to be extinct due to the expansive fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, which reduced the global population from between 150,000 and 300,000 to roughly 2,000. However, the animals prove a low threat, unlike humans. As others have written, killer whales and sharks are the biggest threat to sea otters of all sizes if they are in the ocean. Then in 1914 a remnant population of about 50 southern sea otters was found along the rugged Big Sur shoreline. Bald eagles, bears and coyotes will also eat sea otters. The younger sea otters can also be attacked on the water surface by bald eagles. Predators. Great white sharks and orcas will eat sea otters, especially if larger prey like seals and sea lions are not available. The government passed a law restricting otter hunting. read more The sea otter has several natural predators from which it needs to protect itself. Sea otters eat sea urchins in abundance where they both occur but also prey on crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks. Sea urchins greedily graze on kelp when otters are not around, but in the presence of the predators, urchins hide in crevices and eat just the plant scraps. Leading mammalian predators of this species include orcas and sea lions, and bald eagles may grab pups from the surface of the water. This type of relationship between a predator (sea otter), herbivore (urchin), and plant (kelp) is known as a trophic cascade. “The sea urchins can be ridiculously dense,” Konar said. Sea otters, the "keystone predator" of Aleutian kelp forests, experienced dramatic population declines in the 1990's. Sea otters are a keystone species, meaning their role in their environment has a greater effect than other species. Those sea otters that live farther south, mostly hunt for a great white shark, and representatives of those sea otters that inhabit the more northern areas of the Pacific, hunt for killer whales. Sea otters are the main predator of sea urchins and keep the urchin population in check. Sea otters must also be able to defend themselves from the cold waters in which they swim. In the early 20th century, otters were hunted to near extinction. On land, young sea otters may face attack from bears and coyotes. sharks and humans are the river otters predators An otter's predators are sharks, humans and bald eagles. Loss of sea otters therefore can have a huge impact on our coastal ecosystems. The complexity of trophic cascades can vary extensively from place to place, but this basic pattern is the foundation for understanding how sea otters fit into a healthy coastal environment. Due to the large size of the sea otters, there are few natural predator enemies. 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