Sea otters are innovative, adorable and apex predators in their ecosystem — until now. On Pleasant Island, a 20 square mile uninhabited island off of Alaska, the deer population has likely dropped due to wolf predation. With the decrease in available prey, it appears that sea otters are now on the menu for wolves.
According to a new study from Oregon State University and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, this may be the first time sea otters have become the predominant food source for a land-based predator like a wolf.
Researchers analyzed wolf scat and tracked the wolves with GPS collars, finding that in 2015 their diet was 75 percent deer and only 25 percent sea otter. However, by 2017 sea otters made up 57 percent of the wolves’ diet, while deer made up only 7 percent. This stayed the same until 2020, when the study ended.
