A river otter has been terrorizing the koi pond at Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden since November 23.
According to reports, the otter has been eating the fish, with at least five disappearing so far. The missing fish are very expensive to replace and some are very old.
Debbie Cheung, marketing and communications manager for the gardens said they were all surprised by the otter and that this has never happened before.
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The river otter was first spotted over the weekend on Saturday and as of Tuesday morning, has still not left.
Cheung said that two adult koi fish have been killed so far. They picked up their bodies and buried them.
Staff at the gardens have reached out to the Vancouver Aquarium and the Vancouver Park Board for help trapping and relocating the otter.
The Vancouver Park Board took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to report “staff are at Sun Yat-Sen Garden working to find and relocate the local otter who’s recently begun fishing in the garden’s pond”.
This morning #VanParkBoard staff are at Sun Yat-Sen Garden working to find and relocate the local otter who's recently begun fishing in the garden's pond. The welfare of the otter and the pond's iconic koi fish are our top priorities! @vangarden pic.twitter.com/bSKuWG6Ygc
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) November 20, 2018
As of Friday, November 23, the river otter still remains at large.
According to the Vancouver Park Board, it’s not a matter of if — but when — the river otter is humanely captured.
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