For some reason an article I read in the paper today peaked my interest. It seems there is a wayward sea otter named “Morgan” who has been recaptured by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He has been identified " a serial killer and sexual predator" in the Monterey County Elkhorn Slough. The 65-pound otter had been attacking young harbor seals, trying to mate with them and sometimes drowning them after biting their snouts.
Now, I know we are talking about the animal kingdom here, but scientists have decided that he certainly cannot be released back into the wild. They also feel it is cruel to leave him in “solitary”. So they are going to use him in order to research how much energy an otter uses while diving for food.
I just imagine what my brothers girlfriend would say. She is a hyper-feminist who thinks taking clothes to the Wash-N-Fold is “exploitation of women’s work”. I dare not bring up this issue with her as it would certainly only cause some type of argument.
So I am curious what you think. Should this otter have been euthanised ? After all, the California sea otter is an Endangered Species. I suppose it is better to use Morgan for research than another “normal” sea otter. Then again, if this guy is really a psychopath won’t that skew the results of the study ? They would kill a homocidal dog in a heartbeat. Is there a moral standard when it comes to behavior between animals that humans find offensive ?