(TAN): Hamanaka, a small town on the eastern coast of Hokkaido in Japan, has recently witnessed a proliferation of rare wild sea otters and this has resulted in tourists arriving to have a look at these animals, Japan Today reported.
The development has given the local tourism industry a boost. The manager of a local hotel said that there has been an increase in people who are interested in photographing the otters.
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Yoshihiro Kataoka, 72, who published a photobook of sea otters around the cape, speculates that sea otters in the Northern Territories — as Japan calls four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that Tokyo claims — have expanded their habitat and since been witnessed in Hamanaka. In 2017, two females and one male otter were confirmed there.
“Breeding is not so easy because the pups are sometimes bitten to death by male otters that aren’t their father. I hope we can increase the number of offsprings somehow,” Japan Today quoted Kataoka as saying.
Trade in wild sea otters is restricted as they have seen their populations reduced due to overhunting for their fur, making them rare in domestic aquariums. According to the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, based in Tokyo, at their peak in 1994, there were 122 sea otters at 28 facilities around the country. But currently, only six sea otters are being raised at four aquariums.
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However, breeding of sea otters may threaten the local fishing industry, since the creatures eat copious amounts of seafood. In that case, the otters could be captured and sent to aquariums. The situation at Hamanaka has not reached that stage.
