Sea Otter Populations on the Rise

BuzzFeed, fans of cute animal videos all breathe sigh of relief.

New data show a slight increase in the number of threatened California sea otters swimming in coastal waters, a comeback made more difficult because of a recent uptick in shark attacks.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday said the sea otter population—a group nearly wiped out by fur traders about a century ago—has increased 1.5 percent since 2010.