After near-total extirpation by fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters ("Enhydra lutris") were protected by international treaty in 1911. Despite protection, the remnant population off Vancouver Island died out with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population expanded to over 3,000 , and their range on the island's west coast expanded from Cape Scott in the north to Barkley Sound to the south.