Sea Otter Spotted in Santa Cruz Harbor

This little guy was just hanging out on a recent Sunday morning.

I live in the Santa Cruz Harbor on a sailboat, and one of the perks of living on water are the creatures that stop by every so often. More and more recently, as the weather has warmed, I’ve spotted a sea otter floating in the harbor’s waterways. Just this morning, I saw one not more than 20 feet from my stern, grooming itself with its short arms and it slowly twirled in the gentle current. The otter in this picture was laying perfectly still on the surface, very close to the rocks that mark the end of the harbor. I was on the gangway that leads from land to docks, and happened to look down and spot this little guy. My guess is he was catching some zzz’s.