"She Steals Surfboards by the Seashore"

[JPA Cate]

I found this story interesting. At least in part, it seems to be a naive effort by some scientists to help an otter pup, and the unanticipated consequences in terms of collateral damages.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/s...ection=Science

[wholybee]

Yes, the unfortunate consequence that if you take in a wild animal to safe their life, sometimes you can't safely release them back into the wild.

[boatman61]

Getting silly now..
Stealing surfboards is a threat to humanity..

[wholybee]

I saw video recently, maybe this seal, of surfers that were actually surfing with a seal on the nose of their board.

[Ryban]

I posted about this elsewhere, but my partner is on the SORAC team at MBA -- they lead the California Sea Otter conservation effort, this is one of their otters.

The notion that this is a "naive" effort by scientists to do good is an uninformed take on the situation. This otter was raised in captivity, but did not have interactions with humans -- at least not positive ones. They generally use a surrogate otter to raise the pups in isolated pools. Any bottle-feeding/grooming/or other direct contact for the pups health is done with the caretakers wearing darth vader like costumes that completely mask the human form, head and face included.

When it is necessary to interact with the otters directly, the experiences are not positive (e.g. netting otters and separating them from their surrogate mothers). This is done deliberately to prevent the captive raised pups from having positive associations with humans.

The program has released many pups raised in captivity over the course of two decades, and just this one has, for whatever reason, decided surfboards are the enemy. Jumping to the conclusion that the conservation program has imparted this behavior onto this animal is at the very best pure speculation.

[JPA Cate]

Well, to assume that a darth vader outfit will fool an otter, that does seem naive to me. They have noses and can smell, they have ears to hear. I do not mean that the attempt to raise is naive in and of itself; but I do mean the assumption that their methods will have no negative side effects would be.

I didn't so much jump to the conclusion that the conservation program had intentionally nurtured it to train it to the behavior it is showing, but that the underlying assumption that the otters wouldn't smell or hear humans enough to lose their native fear of them, yes I think that assumption, if there, was naive.

However, we do get to have different opinions here. I am actually rather enthusiastic about science (long story), AND I am aware of lots of scientists with whose opinions I profoundly disagree. Especially in instances where they impute unprovable motivations for actions. Ymmv.

Ann

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Ryban

I posted about this elsewhere, but my partner is on the SORAC team at MBA -- they lead the California Sea Otter conservation effort, this is one of their otters...

Interesting!

Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA)
➥ https://www.vetfolio.com/learn/artic...d-conservation


The feel-good science behind sea otter surrogacy
➥ https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/...tter-surrogacy

“Surrogate rearing a keystone species to enhance population and ecosystem restoration” ~ by Karl A. Mayer et al
➥ https://www.cambridge.org/core/servi...estoration.pdf

[Kelkara]

Sea otters were once hunted to extinction in BC too ... but the cute beasties are making a comeback ... this year I saw more sea otters than ever, even as far south as Alert Bay on the inside ... they're pretty camera shy and won't come near the boat.

River otters on the other hand are a freaking pest, that like nothing better than to poop on my dock lines.

[TrentePieds]

Quick shift of focus: Yesterday, at Campbell River on Vancouver Island, an orca female with her pup, the size of a well grown dolphin, came right in under the wharf and played there for a while among the pilings to the delight of hundreds of people gathering to "ooh" and "ahh".

We are quite fortunate in this province that the local indigenous people are sufficiently recalcitrant that the "Feds", specifically the Department of Fisheries, quake in their boots when the "natives get restless":-0)!

In consequence of agitation by the coastal "nations" fish farming is being phased out so that the salmon stocks that are the principal food source for orcas (and the coastal "nations") will have a chance to recover.

AFAIK this pup is the first one we've had for three years. Survival rates are low at the best of times, so a lot of us are hoping fervently that this pup is made of stern stuff!

TrentePieds





.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Quick shift of focus: Yesterday, at Campbell River on Vancouver Island, an orca female with her pup, the size of a well grown dolphin, came right in under the wharf and played there for a while among the pilings to the delight of hundreds of people gathering to "ooh" and "ahh".

We are quite fortunate in this province that the local indigenous people are sufficiently recalcitrant that the "Feds", specifically the Department of Fisheries, quake in their boots when the "natives get restless":-0)!

In consequence of agitation by the coastal "nations" fish farming is being phased out so that the salmon stocks that are the principal food source for orcas (and the coastal "nations") will have a chance to recover.

AFAIK this pup is the first one we've had for three years. Survival rates are low at the best of times, so a lot of us are hoping fervently that this pup is made of stern stuff!

TrentePieds





.

Nice little bit of news TP...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

...
In consequence of agitation by the coastal "nations" fish farming is being phased out so that the salmon stocks that are the principal food source for orcas (and the coastal "nations") will have a chance to recover...

There are over 100 open-net cage salmon farms, containing, on average ±600,000 fish each, 98% owned by Norwegian companies, representing highly concentrated sources of waste [feces, waste food, antibiotic and pesticide residues], disease [Piscene reovirus] , and parasites [sea lice], that threaten other species.

A number of studies indicate open-net salmon farms spread harmful parasites, viruses and bacteria to wild salmon. In 2019, the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River called for removal of farms in the Discovery Islands.

The federal government will not renew licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms, around British Columbia's Discovery Islands, according to Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray*.

There are multiple [other] stressors on wild salmon, including: climate change; habitat degradation and destruction; regulated fishing as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

* Press Release From: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, February 17, 2023
➥ https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-o...y-islands.html

[desodave]

The pod in Campbell River has been ID'd as a transient pod, not the endangered southern residents. The transients are not salmon eaters like the residents, they feast primarily on our growing seal and sea lion population. We see a lot more of the transients in the northern part of the Salish Sea.

[desodave]

The fish farm decision by the federal government is subject to 2 legal challenges. One is from 4 of the companies affected. But the other is by one company and 2 first nations. The first nations are challenging the federal government's right to make the decision, absent the first nations agreement. They are not saying they disagree with the decision but that they themselves have not decided.

[brazenarticle]

Somebody at the Times is writing great headlines - this reminds me of my all time favorite - "When an eel climbs a ramp to eat squid from a clamp, that's a Moray"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/s...-eat-land.html

[Ryban]

I saw a TikTok going viral today of a man feeding a female sea otter, with pup, squid at a dock, and petting her and her pup. This type of behavior is far more detrimental to the species (not to mention extremely illegal).

In fact, the reason the sea otter subject to the NYT article was born in captivity in the first place is because people were feeding her mother, and she became too friendly towards humans.

So we can argue whether the scientists and conservationists know everything, but they're doing the best they can from the data they have and continually trying to improve in a data driven manner. What I hope we can agree on is: leave these animals alone. It's in their best interest. Plus, you may get an unfriendly visit from fish and wildlife.