California researchers surveyed Point Reyes lagoon 19 times and found 73 pelicans killed by otters

These otters are not part of the study. (Image Credit: Harry Collins Photography/Shutterstock) Wildlife researchers checking the shores of Abbotts Lagoon on California’s Point Reyes peninsula found 73 dead brown pelicans killed by river otters over 19 visits. Recent observations show that the large seabirds may finally be learning to fly away when otters come near.The findings, published in a study in the IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin and reported by Discover Magazine, show a rare hunting relationship between two animal groups that are recovering in numbers in Northern California.Researchers Terence Carroll and Megan Isadore, co-founders of the River Otter Ecology Project, led the study. They first saw an attack at Abbotts Lagoon in October 2021, watching an otter drag a pelican with a six-foot wingspan underwater to drown it. Visitors, photos, and videos had shown similar attacks since late 2018, but no formal study had measured how often they happened.Regular counts show high pelican deathsTo measure the hunting, Carroll and Isadore walked the shoreline every 7 to 10 days from June to November 2023. On each trip, they mapped where they found dead pelicans and marked their ...