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.

“Near-record numbers of manatees have died in Florida waters in early 2011, the second straight year of above-average deaths, alarming officials who are also puzzled by a surge in dolphin fatalities along the Gulf Coast.

Of the 163 manatee deaths recorded from Jan. to Feb. 25, 91 of them have been blamed on cold water temperatures off the southern state, where normally temperate weather draws the protected sea creatures during winter months, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Manatees live near the coastline, and when weather turns cold they often shelter near springs or in warmer discharge canals at power plants to avoid the condition known as ‘cold stress,’ which can weaken and eventually kill the aquatic mammals.”  Read more.

“CONCERNED locals in Point Vernon have been forced to watch as scores of dead fish turn up on a lake’s banks without explanation.

In the past week, at least 20 dead mullet have turned up on Vera Cunningham’s property, which backs on to the lake in Wodalla Mews.

Ms Cunningham said the lake had changed during the past week of bad weather and the reeds had not started a new growth cycle the way they should.

‘There is definitely something in the environment that is killing them all off,’ she said.”  Read more.

“Harrison Township— Residents along the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair could be in for a nasty — and funky — shock when the canals and beaches fully thaw, unleashing thousands and thousands of dead shad fish that have been clogging the waterways for months.

The cause of the massive fish die-offs, which began in mid-December, remains a mystery to state investigators. But it’s clear that once the ice and snow are gone, many homeowners along the waters will likely face mounds of rotting shad carcasses.”  Read more.