For an unforgettable wildlife experience, I highly recommend the Elkhorn Slough Safari in Moss Landing. We saw over one hundred sea otters, almost eighty harbor seals and dozens of sea lions very up close and personal.

This photo shows a raft of about eighty sea otters. Raft is the official label for a bunch of otters hanging out together, looking like a raft.

In addition to sea mammals, I also photographed sixteen species of birds. The trip was two hours of wildlife bliss. There were a few other bird species I got to see, but they were too distant for me to get a good photo of them.

Here is an older otter, recognized by the light colored fur on its face. It is grooming itself after eating. Otters must have one of the cutest faces in the animal kingdom

This photo shows just part of a very large raft of otters we saw in the Elkhorn Slough. The older individuals had light faces, and such cute faces they were.

A lone individual popped up out of the water after a dive for food. We suspected he has a clam grasped in his paws. Otters love shellfish.

This is one otter trying to persuade another otter to share its meal. It wasn't very successful.

Sea Otters appeared to spend a great deal of their time grooming themselves. They use their bodies as tables, so have to keep food scraps washed off. While they clean, they also push and sometimes blow air bubbles into their fur. The extra air trapped in their fur contributes to their buoyancy and increases insulation.

Here is another otter grooming or maybe he is thinking "oh, not another boatload of paparazzi!"

The otter balanced his "plate" on his stomach while enjoying that last little morsel.

A shell was almost the size of the otter's head, but was no match for its appetite.