December 2025 — Sea Otter

Driftwood Studios Featured Endangered Species

Soft, curious, and endlessly connected to the shoreline, sea otters are one of the most vulnerable marine mammals in the world. Once hunted to the edge of extinction, their populations are still fragile and slow to recover. Today, they remain endangered in many coastal regions due to habitat loss, oil spills, climate shifts, and the decline of kelp forests, which are their underwater ecosystem.

Sea otters play a remarkable role in the ocean. They are a keystone species, meaning entire marine environments depend on them. By feeding on sea urchins, otters help kelp forests thrive, and healthy kelp forests support fish populations, absorb carbon, calm ocean waves, and stabilize coastlines.

In other words: when otters flourish, the ocean breathes easier.

This is part of why we chose the sea otter as our very first species to honour. Their spirit is woven into the Driftwood Studios story: the quiet waters, the slow breath, the gentleness of being held by something bigger. They reflect the warmth, curiosity, and softness we hope you feel here. And like the humans who walk into this space, sea otters remind us how powerful it is to rest, to float, and to be cared for.

By choosing sea otters for our December feature, we invite you to begin this conservation journey with us, with a creature who feels like home.

A reminder of tenderness.
A symbol of connection.
A fellow guardian of the shoreline.

$5 from every session this month goes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Conservation Program, supporting hands-on rescue efforts, research, and the restoration of the kelp forests that sea otters keep alive.

Thank you for helping the tide turn for sea otters.