Elkhorn Slough OtterCam Goes High Definition 

The Elkhorn Slough OtterCam has been upgraded from standard to high-definition, and there is now a second HD video camera focused on sea otters, thanks to the generous support of the Acacia Foundation and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Now anyone can watch California’s adorable sea otters in HD by going to www.elkhornslough.org/ottercam.

Located in areas of the Elkhorn Slough Reserve’s salt marshes where Southern sea otters often congregate, the two new cameras offer great image clarity and fine detail for viewing this iconic Monterey Bay marine mammal and a teeming cast of other Elkhorn Slough wildlife. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) manages the Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve.

Elkhorn Slough is home to the largest concentration of endangered Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) on the California coast, and the first webcam dedicated to streaming live video of wild Southern sea otters in their natural habitat. The Elkhorn Slough OtterCam has been streaming live video since 2012. The upgrade to high-definition enhances the OtterCam for researchers and visitors.

Researchers have used the Elkhorn Slough OtterCam to observe Southern sea otter behavior such as foraging, grooming, and raising pups. The camera looks across pickleweed marsh and tidal channels of the slough. These channels appear to be used as a nursery as sea otters with pups are regularly seen in the meandering channels. The camera has provided video and still photographs documenting the growth of otter pups, interactions with harbor seals and other wildlife.

“The OtterCam has opened a unique window on the lives of sea otters. There are times we are seeing 25 or more otters in the protected channels of the slough’s marsh,” says Elkhorn Slough Foundation Executive Director Mark Silberstein.

Research is currently underway to better understand how sea otters are using the estuary, with the hope of helping Southern sea otters recover in other parts of their historic range.

“We are pleased to present these remarkable images from the Elkhorn Slough Reserve, and shine a light upon sea otter use of the estuary,” says Reserve Manager Dave Feliz of CDFW. “The Department of Fish and Wildlife is happy to be a part of this new chapter of sea otter life history.”

Elkhorn Slough encompasses a wide variety of habitats — from oak woodlands, maritime chaparral, coastal prairie, and the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California south of San Francisco Bay — that support an incredible abundance and diversity of life. It hosts 550 species of marine invertebrates and 100 species of fish, as well as resident sea lions, harbor seals and the highest concentration of endangered Southern sea otters on the west coast. On the Pacific flyway, Elkhorn Slough bird numbers can soar during migration seasons, nearly doubling the resident bird counts. The slough is designated a Globally Important Bird area, with more than 340 species identified in and around the slough.

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation (ESF) is a community-supported non-profit land trust whose mission is to conserve and restore the Elkhorn Slough and its watershed. ESF protects 4,000 acres of rare habitat. Since 1982, ESF has been the non-profit partner of the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR), which is managed by the CDFW with administrative assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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For information about ESF and ESNERR, and to support the conservation of Elkhorn Slough, please visit: www.elkhornslough.org.