Map of central and southern California, showing the sample range for sea otters. Animals were sampled opportunistically from San Francisco southward, but most were obtained between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. Data were pooled into 3 groups for some analyses: Northern (thick black coastal line from San Francisco to Monterey), central coast (grey line from Monterey to Morro Bay) and south coast (thick black line from Morro Bay southward, inclusive of San Nicholas Island). The northern and southern regions are more urbanized, compared to the central coast.