num_pages: 32
description: When the sea otters disappear why does their kelp forest habitat disappear too?On the Pacific Coast of North America sea otters play dive and hunt for sea urchins crabs abalone and fish in the lush kelp forests beneath the waves. But there was a time when people hunted the otters almost to extinction. Without sea otters to eat them an army of hungry sea urchins grew and destroyed entire kelp forests. Fish and other animals that depended on the kelp were lost too. But when people protected the sea otters with new laws their numbers began to recover and so did the kelp forests. Susannah Buhrman-Deever offers a beautifully written account of a trophic cascade which happens when the removal of a single element affects an entire habitat. Asides that dig deeper are woven throughout Matthew Truemans dynamic illustrations starring a raft of charismatic sea otters. Back matter includes more information about sea otters and kelp forests including their importance and current status the effects of the international fur trade on indigenous peoples and a list of books and websites for readers who wish to continue to explore.
language: English
title: If You Take Away the Otter
publisher: Candlewick Press