Sea Otter Killed by Vehicle While Crossing Road in Moss Landing. Slow Down for Sea Otters!
Last week Sea Otter Savvy shared a video of a male sea otter, a well-known resident of the south harbor in Moss Landing. He was crossing the road that separated a section of adjacent wetlands (where he had found a good foraging spot) from his resting spot in the harbor. In recent weeks he had developed a routine of swimming through the culvert that passes under the road to find food on the other side. When finding the tidal gates of the culverts closed upon his return, he would walk up the bank, across the road, and dip back into the south harbor to rest.
Those of us whose work concerns sea otters and their welfare recognized this as an inherently dangerous behavior and began discussing ways to prevent this sea otter from becoming a casualty on the high traffic road. A concerned community member erected a “Sea Otter Crossing” sign to warn drivers.