Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
In interesting animal news, an “unusually aggressive” sea otter has been hassling surfers and swimmers off the coast of Santa Cruz.
A number of viral videos this week have caught the attention of The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The agencies state they received reports of a 5-year-old female southern sea otter exhibiting concerning and unusual behaviors, including repeatedly approaching surfers and kayakers recreating in the area.
“Sea otters are naturally wary of people, but this individual has been aggressively approaching people and biting surfboards,” CDFW states.
Due to the potential public safety risk, a team from CDFW and the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Aquarium) trained in the capture and handling of sea otters has attempted capture of the sea otter when conditions have been favorable since July 2. Standard methods for capturing healthy wild sea otters have been unusable or ineffective so far due poor underwater visibility, the sea otter’s wariness of nets from previous capture attempts, and the sea otter’s behavioral patterns varying from day to day. Scientists suggest successful capture may take days or weeks given logistical considerations, the sea otter’s behavior, and shifting environmental conditions.
“The usual method for safely capturing healthy, wild sea otters is a clandestine underwater approach,” according to Colleen Young, an environmental scientist and sea otter biologist with CDFW. “In this case, however, the water has generally been too murky for us to see the animal from below. We are adapting other capture methods to this situation but must ensure the safety of both the sea otter and the people attempting capture, which has limited our options and opportunities.”
(Photo by Lilian Carswell/USFWS)
The sea otter is tagged with a radio transmitter and is being actively monitored by wildlife biologists. USFW authorized the capture of the sea otter after recommending hazing techniques, which were only temporarily effective.
“The goal is the safe capture of this female sea otter to remove the potential public safety risk while also recognizing and acknowledging the important role sea otters play in coastal ecosystems along the Central California coast,” said Lilian Carswell, Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Marine Conservation Coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “While this sea otter’s behavior is highly unusual, this situation amplifies the importance of always keeping a safe distance from all wildlife and not encouraging interactions, such as feeding, that may put an animal or yourself at risk.”
Due to her repeated aggressive behavior and potential public safety risk, upon capture the sea otter will be transported to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she will be examined by experienced veterinary staff. USFW CDFW, and the Aquarium will work with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to find her a long-term home in a zoo or aquarium. Euthanasia and other lethal methods are not under consideration.
“Although this otter was born in an animal care facility, she was raised by her mother with minimal human contact,” said Jess Fujii, Sea Otter Program Manager with Monterey Bay Aquarium. “When she was released, she was monitored by wildlife biologists. This otter behaved like a typical otter in the wild for over a year before interactions with people began.”
This sea otter exhibited similar unusual behavior in the Santa Cruz area in September 2022, at which time CDFW and Aquarium staff successfully hazed her, preventing further incident throughout the winter. There have been no reported interactions with people by this sea otter while at her overwintering site.
Fujii added, “While the exact cause for this sea otter’s behavior is unknown, aggressive behavior in female southern sea otters may be associated with hormonal surges or due to being fed by humans.”
Wildlife officials urge kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area to avoid approaching sea otters or encouraging any interactions with wildlife. If you see a sea otter near you, leave the immediate area.
To report a human-sea otter interaction, call the Monterey Bay Aquarium at (831) 648-4840.
Southern sea otters are listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act. They are also protected under the Marine Mammal Act and California state law. Sea otters play a fundamental role in the ecological health of nearshore ecosystems. Their presence in the ocean enhances biodiversity, increases carbon sequestration by kelp and seagrass, and makes the ecosystem more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Unlike whales and seals, sea otters lack blubber. Instead, they rely on their dense fur coat and elevated metabolism to stay warm. The average adult sea otter must eat 20 to 30 percent of its body mass in food each day just to meet its energy requirements. Sea otters need to conserve energy, which means that uninterrupted rest is an important part their well-being.
To minimize the potential for disturbance and harm to sea otters, people sharing sea otter habitat should:
- Be aware of your surroundings and alert to nearby wildlife when recreating
- Maintain a safe distance – if a sea otter notices you, you are likely too close and should back away
- Keep kayaks at least 60 feet (or five kayak lengths) away, passing by parallel rather than pointing directly at any animals and moving slowly but steadily past rather than stopping
- Keep pets on a leash on and around docks and harbors and never allow interactions, even if the animals appear to be playing
- Never feed sea otters, as they can become aggressive, which could result in their removal from the population and placement in an animal care facility
Like all sea otters along the North Pacific rim, southern sea otters were hunted to near extinction during the fur trade of the 1700s and 1800s. The subspecies survived because a few dozen animals eluded hunters off the rugged coast of Big Sur. Southern sea otters are now protected under the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and California state law. The southern sea otter population has grown slowly since receiving federal protections in the 1970s, fluctuating around 3,000 in recent years.
Sea Otter says-To many kooks in Da water.
“Locals only” is about the lamest term out there.
We are in their space.
While I was fishing in my 14′ aluminum boat, a sea otter made several attempts to crawl aboard. At first, I used the handle of my net to gently push it off but it continued, getting more aggressive with every try. I’m sorry to say this but I had to finally be a little more firm in keeping this animal off my boat. Otters display fight-or-flight behavior and this one obviously was not going to away and I did not want to deal with a potentially aggressive species known to violently claw and bite its “victims” in the face.
Locals only!
Seems kinda lame that they would trap her and move her into an aquarium or zoo. Deal with it surfers, kayakers, and small boaters, right?
Basic, normally I would agree, but this particular otter was born in captivity and released. She is a tagged otter. She needs to be looked at by a wildlife specialist vet. Her behavior is not normal. I am a wildlife advocate and volunteer, and I’ve been following her story for some time now.
No one can trust the public to ignore her. Then someone gets a finger bitten off and gov’t is blamed for it.
I think it is more scientific to note that both animals, both mammals share territory (the ocean) and the otter is using aggression and violence to assert its claim over the territory.
Lost in the outrage toward babycakes are the observed scientific facts. Otters that are diseased and/or infected often cannot “relocated” for two reasons. Risk of spreading infection or diseases like rabies, and otters are territorial and will often attack and kill the relocated otter.
Otters do like to bite the face, see photos of woman’s bitten face here; https://www.sfgate.com/california-news/article/otters-vicious-lassen-redwood-national-lost-coast-16169615.php
Fun facts from the Smithsonian and Vox:
“Male sea otters sometimes attack baby seals and attempt to mate with them. These assaults often result in fatal injuries to the seal pups, and otters are similarly rough with female sea otters. Male sea otters typically grasp the female from behind and bite her face, and this rough behavior was associated with the deaths of about 11 percent of dead sea otters discovered between 2000 and 2003,” Male otters are necrophiliacs and will continue to copulate with the dead female otter it just murdered.
Your cats poop can kill otters. Cat feces carries a parasite that can be deadly to otters, which may be what is going on with the Santa Cruz otter but it is probably just rabies. “in the ’90s, 46 percent of otter attacks involved rabies” or maybe swine flu? “Sampling along the coast of Washington State found more than 70 percent of otters there tested positive for H1N1.”
Male otters have been observed doing the following bit of nastiness by marine biologists: “A male approached a pup floating on the surface while its mother was diving for food. The male forced the pup under water as if trying to drown it. When the female surfaced, the male stole her food (a clam), after which the female and pup quickly departed. The human equivalent of this is probably going to a grocery store parking lot, finding a woman coming out with a small child, and holding a gun to the kid’s head until the mom gives you some of her food.”
Gavin Newsom once claimed to have had a river otter for a pet, which no one believes, he also said his pet otter bit the mailman and no one has found any record of that
Edney, I looked up this phrase to find the source: “in the ’90s, 46 percent of otter attacks involved rabies”
The Vox article:
https://www.vox.com/2014/4/24/5640890/otters-rape-baby-seals-monsters-bad
“The case against otters: necrophiliac, serial-killing fur monsters of the sea
They rape baby seals and hold each other’s pups hostage for food
Dec 20, 2019
But there comes a point at which rational people have to put adorable hijinks aside and recognize otters for what they are: disease-ridden, murderous, necrophilic aqua-weasels whose treachery knows few bounds. They are not “wonderful animals,” as Ms. Deschanel would have you believe. They’re merciless hellspawn who use their intellects for great evil. Here’s what you need to know about these terrible animals, and why you should fear and hate them.”
LOL
What I did find online was one case of a river, not a sea otter, having rabies and biting a kayaker.
I found no what I consider reliable, scientific articles addressing the incidence of rabies in sea otters.
Regarding otters as pets, maybe Newsom did have one, maybe illegally, maybe before it was legislated against.
This is a different species:
“A ban on the international commercial trade of endangered otters found in Southeast Asia will take effect later this month to protect the animals affected by habitat loss and smuggling, amid booming demand for them as pets in Japan.
Conservation groups have identified the Asian small-clawed otter as a species threatened with extinction, but the animals have recently become popular in Japan at “otter cafes,” where customers can pay to touch them, and as pets, fueling illegal trading.”
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/11/4c21cc540eda-ban-on-endangered-otter-trade-to-take-effect-amid-pet-boom-in-japan.html
I’ll confess to having watched a certain famous pair of otters on youtube…
Isn’t it great to put statements from the cited Vox article into context?!
46% sounds like a lot, but it is 46% of 13.
“A 2011 study found 39 anecdotal reports of river otter attacks in North America, 35 of which occurred after 1980. Either due to better reporting or to increased otter savagery, the numbers grew over the decades, from three in the 1980s to 13 in the 1990s to 17 in the 2000s. A decent share of the attacking otters have been rabid; in the ’90s, 46 percent of otter attacks involved rabies, and in the ’00s, 24 percent did. The researchers found four prior scientific publications documenting attacks, including one that reported a deadly otter attack in India.
To be fair, the vast majority — 77 percent — of the attacks the researchers analyzed involved North American river otters, and none appear to have involved sea otters.
I couldn’t find any reports of attacks on humans from sea otters, but that may just be a function of sea otters being much rarer than river otters, and spending less time on or near dry land than river otters do. Moreover, sea otters have in at least some cases shown a willingness to attack primates, as in the case of the above sea otters in the Bronx Zoo, which killed a monkey with whom they shared an exhibit. ”
Seems pretty normal for a predator mammal.
Source study: “A Review of Violent or Fatal Otter Attacks”
https://www.iucnosgbull.org/Volume28/Belanger_et_al_2011.pdf
Unfortunately, whenever any animal exhibits “concerning and unusual behaviors,” that animal m-u-s-t be dispatched ASAP. I’m not talking about a puppy chasing a marble around the kitchen floor, a cat toying with a grasshopper with a broken leg in the garden, or a cockatiel fluttering for hours at the “enemy” in a mirror. It wouldn’t be fair to relocate an obviously sick otter to another area where it would meet it demise at the hands of other otters (bitten or drowned to death). Best thing to do in this case is to capture the offending otter and humanely put it to rest. Hopefully, whatever disease or sickness this otter has is not going to be spread amongst the greater otter population.
Babycakes. You, in my opinion, are way off of the mark on your assessment. Sometimes it is better to keep quiet and seem intellegent than to speak and disprove it.
Babycakes, if by “dispatched” you mean euthanized, then NO. That is NOT true. Should this otter be seen by a vet and assessed? By all means, yes, but NOT to kill her! Good Lord, people. WE moved into their space! Let’s treat our wild neighbors with the respect and kindness they deserve.
Wut?! What the heck?! Babycakes, what is your educational and professional background in this field? And how can you diagnose the animal and assess the entire situation from reading this article?
I assess delusions of grandeur from reading your comment.
Bcakes is exhibiting concerning and unusual behaviors.
4:42 – Or spell intelligent incorrectly.
I love, Love, LOVE animals, so please do not misconstrue my comment about managing obviously dangerous animals. We have a few rentals near Lake Tahoe, nothing fancy mind you. Several of our renters and neighbors had scary encounters with people-food loving bears….one made it’s way inside one of the units. Fish and Game in that area deals with bears alllllll the time, and once a bear is branded as a problem (not the bear’s fault), that bear is…..you-know-what. Same with this unfortunate otter, which is simply doing its thing and/or defending itself from the onslaught of ocean-loving humans. Agree or disagree, the demise of this animal is imminent (according to the article) and is the sad reality of how wildlife is treated when they bite people. Very sad.
bcakes, the otter has not bitten anyone.
Now to be incarcerated in some zoo or aquarium. Poor otter.
Mini. I think that the pros will not harm this otter unnecessarily. but I share your concerns. Good on you for caring.
I was using those two articles for fun and at the same time pointing out that some people here:
A. Forget we are animals too
B. Forget that as highly adaptive primates, we belong everywhere. It is unscientific to say “humans don’t belong on the ocean” Sea Otters adapted, evolved into to the ocean going mammals by developing characteristics that help them survive and thrive. Primates built rafts and boats to do the same
C. Get reflexively upset. For example when babycakes put two facts out there and people booed and hissed like babycakes was a witch. There are solid scientific reasons why an otter may be put down, and solid reasons the otter may not be able to be relocated.
It amuses me to read posts by people who might even have one of those yard signs about believing in science, tossing science and going with emotion
@8:17
Serial palterer doing the backstroke.