The life of the sea otter, (KNOW) to some people as a 'floating teddy bear' (NOT BE) easy for the last two centuries.
Their population off the California coast (REDUCE) from 18,000 to 1,724 in a century. In 19th century they (BRING) to the brink of extinction by fur traders. But in 1938 a rancher spotted several of the small furry animals (FLOAT) on their back, their usual position, off the coast of California. Since then, their numbers (MULTIPLY) slowly. The problem now is not that people
hunt (THEY) for their furs but that the sea otters are at odds with
the commercial shellfish industry.