LAPUSH — A playful sea otter prone to hopping into kayakers’ laps in Puget Sound has been deported to a coastal sea otter population in the waters off LaPush.
State and federal wildlife biologists released the celebrity sea otter Friday at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, where a majority of the state’s sea otters live.
Wildlife officials caught Dumas, a 57-pound female, on Thursday at Redondo Beach near Federal Way, where it had spent the last several months flirting with boaters, beachgoers and their pets.
Biologists say they acted out of concern for both the sea otter’s and the public’s safety.
Dumas underwent health checks at the Seattle Aquarium on Thursday night to ensure the sea otter’s relocation would not introduce diseases into the native coastal population.
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