photo credit: Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue Facebook page
Four dead adult male otters were found on the side of Old Adobe Road between Scott Road And Tunzi Road

A gruesome discovery of four dead adult male otters found on the side of Old Adobe Road in Petaluma is raising concerns about what might have happened to the animals. 

"A couple days ago, we were getting calls on our hotline about people who witnessed them on the side of the road as they were driving by."

That’s Doris Duncan, executive director of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue. She says the otters were found in a pile, and all four had significant head injuries. Duncan says she asked the organization’s animal care director to examine the otters.

"She said that all four of them were very, very healthy robust male otters and that they're probably the largest otters she's ever seen," said Duncan.

A representative from Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue took multiple pictures of the scene, including the roadway, and how the animals’ bodies were situated. The photos show blood on the roadway, and there are creeks on either side of the road where the otters were found. While the cause of death is still under investigation, Duncan says it's possible the otters were hit by a car. She shared the photos on social media with the hope that someone will come forward with information about what happened to the animals.

"I was hoping that I could have gotten somebody that says, "Oh yeah, I saw them all in the middle of the road and went around them or oh I actually hit them and then pull them aside, something like that," said Duncan.

The otters have been sent to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for a necropsy. Duncan says results can take weeks to come back, and that it is possible the otters were intentionally killed, but she is not jumping to conclusions.

"It is one of the species of wildlife in our county that are victimized by people who don't like otters taking fish for any reason. It's possible that something could have happened," said Duncan. "We're hoping that when the necropsies come back from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, if they find anything like pellets or, you know, bullets or anything like that, that that would change everything."

Anyone with information about the otters should contact Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.