MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“California sea otters capture people’s hearts. Kids line up and squeal in excitement when spotting them.

Recently, the otters have begun losing ground in their struggle to survive, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. Many are mysteriously falling victim to a ruthless killer: The great white shark.

‘This year was an alarming number of white shark attacks that we identified,’ says Dr. Michael Murray, a Monterey Bay Aquarium veterinarian. ‘I think the jury’s still out on, ‘a’ what it means and ‘b’ why it happens.’

It’s puzzling because the sharks don’t eat the otters, but one bite is enough to kill the furry creatures. It’s one reason for a worrying decline in the number of California sea otters.

The latest count of this threatened species shows their population dropped to just 2,711, a decline of 3.6 percent. The number of sea otter pups, which represent the future of the species, is down 11 percent.

Dr. Melissa Miller, of the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game, points to a female that died right around the time that she was going to give birth.

When otters die they often end up in Miller’s lab, which is a kind of crime scene investigation unit for otter deaths. Sharks are not the only problem.

‘We know something’s happening where otters that are prime-aged animals are dying of heart failure,’ Miller said.” Read more.