Some otters rely on tools to bust open hard-shelled prey items like snails, and a new study suggests this tool use is helping them to survive as their favorite, easier-to-eat foods disappear.

California sea otter populations have rebounded in recent decades. New research finds that by feasting on shore crabs, these otters are helping to protect their coastal marsh habitat against erosion.

Otter 841 has become a celebrity after a month of stealing surfboards at a popular beach in Santa Cruz. Authorities are trying to catch her, but the otter's fans want her to be left alone in the wild.

The 5-year-old female southern sea otter was first seen hijacking surfboards in Santa Cruz last September. Officials successfully drove the otter away from the area, but she has since returned.

Sea otters were hunted to near extinction along the U.S. West Coast. During the century they have been away, a lucrative shellfish industry has grown in the waters where restoration would take place.