River Otters Are Drowning Brown Pelicans at Point Reyes — and the Birds May Finally Be Catching On
Learn how river otters at Point Reyes turned brown pelicans into recurring prey and why the birds may finally be responding.
River otters in Northern California have been preying on brown pelicans, according to a recent study. The River Otter Ecology Project, co-founded by Terence Carroll and Megan Isadore, documented 73 pelican carcasses linked to otters at Abbotts Lagoon on Point Reyes peninsula. The attacks often involved the otters severing the pelicans' heads and necks, allowing them to access the pelican's flesh around the breast.
The study, published in the IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin, found that river otters continue to attack pelicans despite the birds' apparent avoidance of the lagoon. Despite the attacks, pelicans continued to rest in the same general area, with new carcasses appearing frequently. This behavior suggests that the pelicans may be learning to avoid river otters, although more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
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