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In 2013, a catastrophic wasting event decimated sea stars all along the West Coast. That is, until 2014, as Monterey BayвЂ™s kelp forest ecosystem began to change, beginning with the loss of a key predator. The cause, Smith said, was that otters reached their carrying capacity, meaning Monterey BayвЂ™s prey-limited waters were at their limit for how many sea otters it could support. The number of otters rapidly increased up until the late 1990s, at which point numbers plateaued. Recovery efforts soon followed, a last-ditch hope at conserving CaliforniaвЂ™s sea otters Smith described as вЂњhugely successful.вЂќ

Marine ecologist Joshua Smith вЂ“ a postdoctoral scholar at UC Santa Barbara who will make an appearance on Wild KingdomвЂ™s Monterey episode вЂ“ explained that in the early 1900s, after the fur trade whittled down the thousands of sea otters peppering CaliforniaвЂ™s coast down to a handful, a small surviving colony was discovered off the shores of Big Sur. Mutual of OmahaвЂ™s local feature strings together a narrative of sea otters along the Monterey Peninsula that goes back decades, but puts particular focus on the progress of the population since 2014. вЂ¦ ThatвЂ™s why Monterey, and what (itвЂ™s) doing with research and studies, is so appropriate for us.вЂќ Film crews from Mutual of OmahaвЂ™s new series, вЂњWild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild,вЂќ took to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Moss Landing, Elkhorn Slough, and even below the oceanвЂ™s surface to tell a success story paramount to the Central Coast - sea otter and, in turn, kelp forest conservation. вЂњWeвЂ™re hoping to affect the next generation and get them concerned about preserving wildlife and their natural world.

вЂњOur show is focusing on species that are doing better,вЂќ said wildlife expert Peter Gros, who helped host the original Wild Kingdom and is set to return for JanuaryвЂ™s re-imagined debut. Last week, film crews took to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Moss Landing, Elkhorn Slough, and even below the oceanвЂ™s surface to tell a success story paramount to the Central Coast вЂ“ sea otter and, in turn, kelp forest conservation.

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Returning to television screens in January 2023 for a new iteration, the program, revamped as вЂњMutual of OmahaвЂ™s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild,вЂќ will showcase a series of conservation success stories as a nod to moments of environmental optimism. For decades, Mutual of OmahaвЂ™s Wild Kingdom made living rooms across America privy to parts of the natural world unknown and unseen by most from the comforts of a couch: winter sweeping Yellowstone National Park, Royal Bengal Tigers roaming IndiaвЂ™s Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Emperor Penguins skirting Antarctic ice.Д«ut now, cameras are turning to Monterey Bay.

Monterey herald