Rescued, Rehabbed Sea Otter Found Shot Dead Along California Central Coast

MORRO BAY, Calif. (AP) -- California authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a protected southern sea otter that had been rescued and returned to the ocean last year.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday that the dead otter was found floating in Morro Bay in September and a necropsy determined it was killed with a pellet gun.

A numbered tag identified the animal as an otter that had previously been found tangled in a fishing line. It was rehabilitated and returned to the wild in July 2016.

The department says the killing was the latest in a rash of sea otter crimes along the stretch of coastline between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

A skinned otter was found in September. Three otters were shot to death in August 2016.