Sea Otter Recovery Agencies Concerned About Dramatic Rise in Sea Otter Deaths
April mortalities more than double the 10-year average for threatened population
Forty-four southern sea otters have washed up dead on California beaches this month, a dramatic and as-yet unexplained increase in mortalities among the threatened marine mammal population.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which earlier this month released its comprehensive sea otter recovery plan, may soon declare that the deaths constitute an "unusual mortality event." The declaration would free additional resources to search for an underlying cause for the deaths.
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