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Otters appear victors in Calif. water wars
Progress has been made recently in the effort to abandon FWS' idiotic relocation program of sea otters, in which those found south of Point Conception are relocated further north, most notably to San Nicholas Island, a habitat which is unsutable for the otters, causing them to swim away and in many cases die in the process. (Associated Press, November 16, 2005)
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Greg Sanders once stalked his chief nemesis — an otter nicknamed Phoky — for 24 days.
When Sanders, a biologist, finally captured the critter at Southern California’s Anacapa Island, he shipped Phoky north to Monterey under an ambitious federal program to preserve otters while protecting shellfish divers from natural competition.
But within six months, Phoky was back in forbidden waters. He was one of dozens of otters that surprised government biologists at almost every turn. Now, it seems, officials are throwing in the towel.
In an admission that the slick-furred creatures refuse to respect boundaries imposed by man, authorities want to officially abandon their otter-relocation policy.
If the government’s battle of wits is at an end, the otters have won.
“This concept of taking animals and putting them in one place and expecting them to stay where we want them ... wasn’t really working,” said Sanders, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
The agency is taking public comment through January in hopes of scuttling the program, which cost several million dollars before it tailed off in 1993. Fishermen want the existing policy enforced.
Environmentalists praise the idea of letting otters go where they want, saying it will aid the recovery of a species hunted almost to extinction.
By the end of the 19th century, an otter population of 16,000 that had stretched from Mexico to Oregon had dwindled to 50 otters in a secluded cove off Big Sur. Today there about 2,700 southern otters off California’s coast, according to estimates.
Escaped from island
To appease fishermen, Fish and Wildlife banned otters in 1987 from California waters south of Point Conception near Santa Barbara — with one exception.
Fearful that an oil spill could wipe out otters elsewhere, the agency tried to create a reserve for 150 otters on San Nicholas Island, about 80 miles south of Santa Barbara.
Biologists had thought the otters would stay near San Nicholas, which has plenty of food and is surrounded by deep water that is hard to swim across. Even if the otters wanted to leave, it seemed improbable that they had the navigation skills to do it — especially since they were taken to the island by plane.
“We flew ’em out there,” Sanders said, “although we didn’t blindfold them.”
The otters didn’t play along. Some swam up to 200 miles to return to native habitat along the Central Coast.
Fishermen and seafood processors say federal officials never did enough — and complain that lobster and urchin fishing could be devastated if otters continue roaming Southern California waters.
“It comes down to a philosophy of, what do you believe in? Do you believe in animals or do you believe in human beings?” said Robert S. Juntz Jr., president of the Sea Urchin Processors Association and owner of a processing plant in Mendocino County that employs about 45 people.
Expensive relocation
Otters are good at getting their prey — but getting otters was never so easy.
After waiting for an otter to fall asleep, wildlife crews would sneak up beneath it with a propeller-powered craft manned by a diver and snare it in a net. The otter then would be flown in a chartered plane or driven hundreds of miles to a Northern California beach for re-release. Some died from the stress.
Total cost: $6,000 to $12,000 per otter.
But before officials can catch an otter, they have to spot it. One recent day, as part of the agency’s fall otter survey, Sanders spent two hours near the University of California at Santa Barbara, peering through a telescope at a kelp bed where something resembling an otter had been seen the day before.
Sanders perked up when a potential otter bobbed near the surface, but it turned out to be a harbor seal. Or a log. Lots of things look like otters.
“You get these harbor seals that fake you out,” Sanders said.
Sometimes, though, Sanders catches a break — as in the incident he refers to as “the drive-by sighting.”
Phoky’s adventures
Years ago, Sanders got a call from a lifeguard who had been cruising along coastal Highway 101 near Ventura when he spotted what he thought was an otter. Sanders was incredulous, but decided to follow up.
It turned out to be Phoky.
A few weeks ago, Sanders and other wildlife officials marked the 15th anniversary of Phoky’s first capture near Anacapa. Phoky, though, didn’t make it to the celebration. He had better places to be.
Last Sanders heard, the otter was rumored to be in Mexico.
Background on the otter population is online at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/es/es_index.html
When Sanders, a biologist, finally captured the critter at Southern California’s Anacapa Island, he shipped Phoky north to Monterey under an ambitious federal program to preserve otters while protecting shellfish divers from natural competition.
But within six months, Phoky was back in forbidden waters. He was one of dozens of otters that surprised government biologists at almost every turn. Now, it seems, officials are throwing in the towel.
In an admission that the slick-furred creatures refuse to respect boundaries imposed by man, authorities want to officially abandon their otter-relocation policy.
If the government’s battle of wits is at an end, the otters have won.
“This concept of taking animals and putting them in one place and expecting them to stay where we want them ... wasn’t really working,” said Sanders, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
The agency is taking public comment through January in hopes of scuttling the program, which cost several million dollars before it tailed off in 1993. Fishermen want the existing policy enforced.
Environmentalists praise the idea of letting otters go where they want, saying it will aid the recovery of a species hunted almost to extinction.
By the end of the 19th century, an otter population of 16,000 that had stretched from Mexico to Oregon had dwindled to 50 otters in a secluded cove off Big Sur. Today there about 2,700 southern otters off California’s coast, according to estimates.
Escaped from island
To appease fishermen, Fish and Wildlife banned otters in 1987 from California waters south of Point Conception near Santa Barbara — with one exception.
Fearful that an oil spill could wipe out otters elsewhere, the agency tried to create a reserve for 150 otters on San Nicholas Island, about 80 miles south of Santa Barbara.
Biologists had thought the otters would stay near San Nicholas, which has plenty of food and is surrounded by deep water that is hard to swim across. Even if the otters wanted to leave, it seemed improbable that they had the navigation skills to do it — especially since they were taken to the island by plane.
“We flew ’em out there,” Sanders said, “although we didn’t blindfold them.”
The otters didn’t play along. Some swam up to 200 miles to return to native habitat along the Central Coast.
Fishermen and seafood processors say federal officials never did enough — and complain that lobster and urchin fishing could be devastated if otters continue roaming Southern California waters.
“It comes down to a philosophy of, what do you believe in? Do you believe in animals or do you believe in human beings?” said Robert S. Juntz Jr., president of the Sea Urchin Processors Association and owner of a processing plant in Mendocino County that employs about 45 people.
Expensive relocation
Otters are good at getting their prey — but getting otters was never so easy.
After waiting for an otter to fall asleep, wildlife crews would sneak up beneath it with a propeller-powered craft manned by a diver and snare it in a net. The otter then would be flown in a chartered plane or driven hundreds of miles to a Northern California beach for re-release. Some died from the stress.
Total cost: $6,000 to $12,000 per otter.
But before officials can catch an otter, they have to spot it. One recent day, as part of the agency’s fall otter survey, Sanders spent two hours near the University of California at Santa Barbara, peering through a telescope at a kelp bed where something resembling an otter had been seen the day before.
Sanders perked up when a potential otter bobbed near the surface, but it turned out to be a harbor seal. Or a log. Lots of things look like otters.
“You get these harbor seals that fake you out,” Sanders said.
Sometimes, though, Sanders catches a break — as in the incident he refers to as “the drive-by sighting.”
Phoky’s adventures
Years ago, Sanders got a call from a lifeguard who had been cruising along coastal Highway 101 near Ventura when he spotted what he thought was an otter. Sanders was incredulous, but decided to follow up.
It turned out to be Phoky.
A few weeks ago, Sanders and other wildlife officials marked the 15th anniversary of Phoky’s first capture near Anacapa. Phoky, though, didn’t make it to the celebration. He had better places to be.
Last Sanders heard, the otter was rumored to be in Mexico.
Background on the otter population is online at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/es/es_index.html
For more information:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10068023/
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IMC Network
Of course, these fish aren't doing too well with the sewage water either. I wonder if this could cause humans to be less fertile too
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fish14nov14,1,1354342.story?coll=la-headlines-california
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An Unhealthy Combination for the Otters
Scientists and researchers have recently discovered a correlation between Toxoplasma gondii and the decrease in the sea otter population off the California Coast. Since cats are the only creatures that shed the T. gondii parasite, through their feces, there seems to be a direct link. Although other causes are also suspect, researchers from UC Davis, in a study of otters who habitated areas near freshwater runoff, found that 42% of live otters and 62% of dead otters tested positive for T gondii. Sea otters are regarded as being "an almost ideal sentinel species," much like the old canaries in mines, in that they telegraph things that might be going on in the larger marine environment, according to David A. Jessup, senior wildlife veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Game.
What is Toxoplasma Gondii?
T. gondii is a parasite with a two-phase life cycle: intestinal and extraintestinal. In cats, the intestinal phase goes through a process which eventually produces oocysts, which are "shed" in the feces. Human toxoplasmosis can result from exposure to the T. gondii through poor sanitation after handling cat litter; also from working unprotected in a garden which may have T Gondii oocysts in the soil. Toxoplasmosis can also be acquired through handling or eating raw meat or undercooked meat.
Most humans who test positive for T. gondii may never even know they have it. The exceptions are immunocompromised, e.g. HIV+ patients or individuals going through transplants. In people with weakened immune systems, the parasite (through the extraintestinal phase) can migrate to other areas of the body, including the brain, causing severe neurological disorders, including paralysis.
For some reason, sea otters seem to be more susceptible to the extraintestinal phase than "normal" humans. Dr. Jessup comments in an article by The Scientist, "The animals are often found alive and are suffering seizures, showing obvious signs of damage to their brains. They can't hold food and can't take care of themselves, and their eyes are dilated."
How Did T. Gondii Get into the Ocean?
Although no one knows for certain, it is thought that there could be several causes:
* Feral Cat Colonies: In Moss Landing, a port near Monterey, CA, there are 40 or 50 feral cats living under or around the wharf, according to Dr. Jessup. Nearby dairies also attract cats in large numbers.
* Sewage Treatment Plants: These plants traditionally treat sewage to kill harmful bacteria, remove the waste solids, and pump the resultant "safe" effluent directly into a freshwater source that eventually drains into ocean bays. Unfortunately present means of sewage treatment do not kill the T. Gondii parasite. Cat owners using flushable litters, may be unwittingly contributing to the ultimate deaths of sea otters.
* Storm Drain Runoff: Rain, lawn and garden surface water, and anything you manually put into that storm drain in the street near your house eventually runs off into a creek or river which flows directly into an ocean bay. Since outdoor cats bury their feces, deep watering or heavy rains can float the oocysts (which have an extremely hard shell) out to a bay. It is unknown whether the sea otters are ingesting the parasite directly from the water, or by eating contaminated shellfish. Patricia Conrad, a UC Davis parasitologist, is studying the bivalves that are part of sea otters' diet to see if Toxoplasma is concentrating in mussels.