Originally published Friday, February 20, 2009 at 2:19 PM
PrintRare sea otter sighted at Depoe Bay, Ore.
DEPOE BAY, Ore. — It's confirmed. A furry, flipper-footed critter seen swimming near the sea wall at Depoe Bay is a sea otter — a member of an endangered species that went extinct off the Oregon coast in 1906.
DEPOE BAY, Ore. — It's confirmed. A furry, flipper-footed critter seen swimming near the sea wall at Depoe Bay is a sea otter — a member of an endangered species that went extinct off the Oregon coast in 1906.
Attempts to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon Coast in the early 1970s failed, and there have been few confirmed sea otter sightings in the state in the last 100 years.
The otter was spotted Wednesday by Morris Grover, coordinator of the state park's Whale Watching Spoken Here at Depoe Bay.
He sent pictures to Jim Rice of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport and James Estes of the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Both mammal experts confirmed the sighting. Rice says the otter is likely a transient from California or Washington.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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