Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A sea otter that became an ambassador for her species after a remarkable recovery from an oil tar soaking off the coast of Northern California has been killed by a shark.
"Olive the Oiled Otter" made headlines in 2009 when she was found covered in oil and near death on Santa Cruz beach. Olive recovered fully and went on to deliver a healthy pup years later.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says Olive was found dead by a beachgoer on Sunday.
The department says wildlife biologists found wounds consistent with a shark bite on the 7-year-old marine mammal's body.
It says Olive's wounds showed no signs of healing, indicating that she died quickly after the fatal bite.
Olive had more than 5,000 Facebook followers, in an account set up by wildlife officials. Hundreds of followers expressed sadness after reading about her passing.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.