Federal authorities are investigating a report that a Northern California boat owner shot a female sea otter.
The Monetery Herald reports that a woman reported seeing a man shooting a sea otter with a pellet gun at a dock in the Moss Landing harbor in Monterey County on Dec. 4. The man said he was shooting aimlessly in the water. The unidentified man has not been arrested, but authorities have seized his pellet gun.
It's unclear if the sea otter is injured. The otter is still in the wild.
But after the shooting, the sea otter abandoned her weakest of two pups. Monterey Bay Aquarium staff euthanized the pup because a surrogate mother in captivity was unavailable and the two-pound baby was deemed too frail to survive alone outside.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
