CAPITOLA, Calif.- Two local researchers comb the deep blue sea for two small creatures with a big reputation. They are searching for the once-oiled sea otter Olive and her pup. On Monday Central Coast News went to Capitola, where we got to see the two swimming at sea.
"I will be tracking her for her entire life. She is such an important sea otter because she's the first sea otter in California that has been oiled, washed, rehabilitated and released and given birth to a pup," said California Dept. of Fish and Game biologist Colleen Young.
Colleen Young's special relationship with Olive the Otter started in 2009. She now comes out to the water at least once a week to keep track of her.
"And we can see her through the spotter scope," said Young.
Sometimes it takes hours to locate her off the Central Coast. But on Monday it only took a few minutes as she swam just off Opal Cliffs in Capitola with her pup. Olive is considered a threatened species. That's why young and her teammate Erica Hanson are watching her progress through a transmitter in her abdomen. Then they use an antenna to track Olive and the louder it gets, the closer they are to finding her.
"So we learn about what they're eating, what sort of habitat they're using, we learn about what sort of activities they're doing and that allows us to understand what the general population as a whole is doing," Young said.
Young said the otter population in California is only about 2,800 right now. To take them off the endangered list, there needs to be about 3,100.
"Historically there were on the order of 15,000 sea otter along the coast of California, occupying a much greater range," Young said.
Young said humans and sharks are the two reasons they're struggling to survive.
"So it's really important to be aware of what we're putting in the ocean both directly and indirectly through runoff," Young said.
But the sea otter could be making a comeback on the Central Coast. According to a survey by the USGS, it shows the population is improving. But some otter experts said they are cautiously optimistic about the news. Last year, 335 sea otters were found dead. That's reaches a record high at more than 10% of the entire population.
