VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The river otter that has been snacking on valuable koi fish at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver remains on the loose.
The Vancouver Park Board has been trying to catch and remove the furry creature and has moved a trap closer to its “home base.”
“We’ve also located the feeding lair, where it’s taking its catch and devouring that,” Howard Normann with the Park Board said.
Three traps have been set up and stocked with some tasty treats — including salmon, tuna, and chicken. The largest has been strategically placed near an area where it’s believed the otter has been digging and making himself a den.
“The guess is it’s probably living in the den and it’s going to the feeding lair on the other side,” Normann said.
On Thursday, Debbie Cheung with the garden said not only has the otter evaded capture, it also appears to have snatched the bait. The meat was gone from one of the traps when staff arrived Thursday morning.
Some of the koi in the garden are over 50 years old. So far, six have been eaten.
“I feel really sad that we are losing our koi but at the same time, the otter is really smart,” Cheung said. “I hope that he is full from eating the bait and doesn’t go after our fish.”
The Park Board says it will not be relocating the remaining fish, but will be setting up motion detector cameras.
Otter still at large at @vangarden pond eating koi fish. We don’t know how it got into the garden. #VanParkBoard staff hoping to trap it and re-locate it to a new home in #StanleyPark. pic.twitter.com/JbqI8zglGU
— Vancouver Park Board (@ParkBoard) November 20, 2018
How the otter arrived in the tranquil, walled garden remains a mystery but Vancouver resident Chris Galer has offered a clue.
He has a photo of an otter he spotted scampering across streets in Chinatown on Friday night before it disappeared in bushes, barely a block from the Sun Yat-Sen enclosure.
Wife and I just walking through Chinatown and there's a river otter on Carroll street. #vancouver @NEWS1130 @CBCNews pic.twitter.com/V0eT09bFQy
— Christopher Galer (@chrisgaler) November 17, 2018
“It was clearly an otter,” Galer said, adding his wife didn’t believe him until they both saw it as they crossed another street.
The public side of the park remains shut down. If caught, the otter will likely be taken to Stanley Park.
‘Chinatown Otter’ surfaces on Twitter
Meanwhile, someone has created a social media account for the pesky otter on the loose.
On Twitter, @ChinatownOtter has been taunting the Park Board, as well as Andrea MacPherson with CityNews Vancouver, who did a story on the critter on Wednesday.
Wifi coverage from @ParkBoard is spotty at best.#ChinatownYVR #Otterwatch2018 #FeedingDen https://t.co/iSWAoeJnwo
— Chinatown Otter (@ChinatownOtter) November 22, 2018
Humans found my #FeedingLair AND my den?
Instead I'll go rub myself on all the fancy blankets.
What's that? Fish and cat food? That's so thoughtful! You shouldn't have.#ChinatownYVR #Otterwatch2018 #FeedingDen https://t.co/uHS98avQko— Chinatown Otter (@ChinatownOtter) November 22, 2018
The human from Breakfast Television is jealous because I have the freshest sushi in town… for breakfast.#otterwatch2018 #ChinatownYVR https://t.co/KIIykOtw5s
— Chinatown Otter (@ChinatownOtter) November 21, 2018
– With files from Andrea MacPherson
