A sea otter surfaced with a large shark in its grasp recently, to the astonishment of onlookers. But what happened next is not clear.
The accompanying images, captured last Tuesday by Don Henderson and Alice Cahill inside California’s Morro Bay, represent the first documentation of a southern sea otter catching a horn shark, according to Michael D. Harris of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“To my knowledge (and a group of colleagues), this is the first documented horn shark capture by a sea otter,” Harris, a sea otter biologist, told For The Win Outdoors. “There are reports of sea otters capturing skates and rays, but this is the first report of a shark. Sea otters will feed on fish, but it’s a very rare observation in California.”
Southern sea otters off Central California prey largely on invertebrates, such as urchins, crabs, abalone, and clams. Northern sea otters, from Washington to Alaska, more commonly prey on fish, which could include sharks.
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The images were shared via social media Saturday by the nonprofit, Sea Otter Savvy.
“If you watch sea otters long enough you will see a reasonable sample of bottom-dwelling sea life brought to the surface out of hunger or curiosity,” the group, dedicated to sea otter conservation, wrote on Facebook. “We are not sure which was the case here but these ‘jaw-dropping’ images are the first known record of a ‘foraging-like’ interaction between a sea otter and this creature.”
Followers were asked to guess the identity the shark species.
Horn sharks are solitary predators that shelter during the day. By night they hunt mollusks and crustaceans, which they crush with strong jaws and molar-like teeth.
It’s not clear if the otter was attempting to prey on the horn shark, since the observation was brief. However, sea otters do feed on the surface, using their chests as trays.
Social media followers also wondered if it was a playful, curious, or defensive behavior.
Sea Otter Savvy, noting the size of the shark, stated on Twitter: “Not surprisingly, while some nibbling may have occurred, the prey was not consumed.”
Harris, who was called to the scene but missed out on the observation, could not provide an answer.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know the outcome,” he said. “Was this a foraging event? Did the otter eat the shark or attempt to eat it? If not a foraging event, what was driving this sea otter behavior?”
After reviewing the photos, Harris said he was “fairly certain” that the otter is an adult female.
One person, referring to the face-to-face embrace in the photos, joked on Twitter: “They are star-crossed lovers, and no reality can convince me otherwise.”
–Images courtesy of Don Henderson (top two) and Alice Cahill