About this item
A science journalist's journey along the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters--the appealing species unique to this coastline that was hunted to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries.These adorable, furry marine mammals--often seen floating on their backs holding hands--reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur during the 1700s and 1800s, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sealife.
About the Author
Rhode Island-based author Todd McLeish has been writing about wildlife and environmental issues for more than 20 years. While in college, he developed a passion for wildlife, natural history and environmental protection. Rather than pursue a biology degree, he immersed himself in the natural world by volunteering to help biologists with their wildlife research and write about these experiences.
In more than 100 magazine and newspaper articles, he has examined the return of wild fishers to southern New England, the impact of gulls on offshore islands, and an effort to census dragonflies in Rhode Island. He has written dozens of essays about backyard wildlife, profiled biologists and wildlife artists, and highlighted numerous threatened species, from piping plovers and ruffed grouse to northern blazing star and American burying beetle. The forthcoming "Narwhals: Artic Whales in a Melting World" is Todd's third natural history book.
Todd is an expert birder, a popular leader of natural history walks, an in-demand public speaker about endangered species, and a former world joggling champion (juggling while jogging) .
