Kids, Sea Otters are Big Winners in Essay Contest

Defenders of Wildlife
Monday, 6 May 2002

Liza Angila-Beban, an eighth grader at San Lorenzo Valley Junior High Nature Academy in Santa Cruz, decided to take a look at the question "Why is the Sea Otter Important to California?" from a completely different point of view in her winning essay for Defenders of Wildlife's 2002 Sea Otter Essay Contest. She wrote from the sea otter's perspective. Her innovative approach, lively writing style, and clear command of the facts put her work at the top of more than 140 essays submitted by students in grades six through eight from all over California.

"Just like the 'canary in the coal mine,' we are bio-indicators of the condition of our environment. Decline in otter populations due to disease could be an indicator that the prey we consume is contaminated. Since a large portion of the human diet consists of seafood, your health is at risk also, and I, the fantastically helpful sea otter, am a useful forewarning of problems in the food supply. This can protect human health!" she wrote in her essay, which won a $1000.00 U.S. savings bond from Defenders of Wildlife.

Students from around the state submitted interesting, innovative essays. Billy Little of York School in Monterey won second prize with his essay that clearly described the essential role of the sea otter in the health of kelp forests and the wide range of species they support, showing how they act as a "keystone" species that plays such an irreplaceable role in its ecosystem. Kaitlin Atton, also of the SLVJH Nature Academy, had the third-place essay with a direct, well written description of the importance of the sea otter to both California's environment and its economy.

Final judging of the essays was accomplished with the assistance of Andy Johnson, Program Manager, Sea Otter Research and Conservation, and Rita Bell, Education Programs Manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and was conducted without students' names, hometowns, or other identifying information attached..

The winning essay and the first runner-up essay are posted on the Web at www.kidsplanet.org/contest. The essays will also be posted at the Carnivores 2002 Conference, hosted by Defenders of Wildlife in Monterey, Calif., which will bring wildlife biologists and other professionals from all over North America to the Monterey Bay area this November.

"This essay contest really helped to raise middle school students' awareness about this important animal and how the sea otter impacts other species in the ecosystem off California's coast," said Jim Curland, a Marine Associate with Defenders of Wildlife's Monterey office

Once abundant in California with a population between 16,000 and 20,000, the sea otter is now a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, facing continued threats to its existence including disease, entrapment in fishing gear, and loss of habitat. Roughly 2,000 sea otters remain and are essential to the health of nearshore marine ecosystems off California. As a keystone species, sea otters play an essential role in the balance of these systems, contributing to the viability of a host of other species.

For more information, or to contact Defenders of Wildlife, see their website at: www.defenders.org