Southern Sea Otter Stranding Database

This dataset is a record of all verified stranded (live sick/injured, dead beached/floating) southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) in California. The data collected include the date and location of stranding, condition, age class and sex of the animal, morphometrics, and very general external and internal necropsy findings. These data have been collected continually since 1968 and are used to identify unusual mortality events, track causes of anthropogenic mortality for mitigation, and inform resource managers about the extent and causes of mortality affecting the southern sea otter population. These data may also be used during or after an oil spill for Natural Resource Damage Assessment purposes, or to inform best achievable recovery and care of live animals. Prior to 2019, the data were managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and data from 1985 to 2018 are available on the USGS website. Data from the earliest years are not yet available in a standardized electronic format, but a subset of the database from 2019 onward is available through this portal. A stranding summary report is also provided for each year starting in 2019.

This data and metadata were submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Staff though the Data Management Plan (DMP) framework with the id: DMP000394. For more information, please visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Sci-Data.

Organization

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Mission of the Department of Fish and Wildlife is to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their...

CDFW DMP Metadata Worksheet_Southern sea otter...XLSX
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Data Management Plan (DMP)...
Explore
- Preview
- Download
southern sea otter stranding, 2019-2023.zipZIP
This zipped folder includes files with the following extensions: PDF, XLSX.
Explore
- More information
- Download

Additional Info

Field	Value
Homepage URL	https://wildlife.ca.gov/OSPR/Science/MWVCRC/Sea-Otter-Stranding-Response
Contact Name	Colleen Young
Contact Email	[email protected]
Public Access Level	Public
Limitations	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License License: This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Using the citation standards recommended for BIOS datasets (https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS/Citing-BIOS) satisfies the attribution requirements of this license. Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data.
Language	English
Temporal Coverage	First day of collection: 1968-03-01 00:00:00. Last day of collection: Ongoing.
Spatial Coverage
Last Updated	April 16, 2024, 22:03 (UTC)

Southern Sea Otter Stranding Database

Data and Resources

Additional Info