Russian sea-otter hunters ventured as far south as [link|http://www.parks.sonoma.net/rosshist.html|Fort Ross], in what is now California, about 50 miles north of present-day San Francisco.

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Annihilation of the sea-otter population has had resonance effects on sea urchins, abalone (another food of the urchins IIRC, and/or otters), shark (predators of otters, particularly great whites), and kelp.

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The sea otter population has rebounded again, but is based on a very narrow genetic baseline. It's currenlty under threat from infection, apparently carried by cat feces washed into coastal waters. With the return of the otter, great white sightings have also increased.