What eats otters?

Otters are eaten by large predators, such as great white sharks, killer whales, bears, sea lions, eagles and coyotes, depending on their geographical location. Humans also kill sea otters when they use fishing gear that traps the otter or hit the otter with boats.

Humans do not usually eat sea otters and generally kill them by accident. Sea otters eat prey by diving down to the bottom of the ocean and finding food there. They gather the food in their paws and then bring it to the surface to eat. When the sea otters are down at the bottom of the ocean, they make themselves available for larger ocean predators, such as sharks and whales.