There is a strange and oddly captivating drama taking place in Chinatown’s Sun Yat Sen Classical Garden where the tranquil peace and well thought out contemplative space has been invaded by a most unusual contemporary nemesis. A river otter has somehow braved several busy arterial roads to end up in the garden, enjoying the privacy and bounty of the garden~and unfortunately eating the koi, the very specialized and highly prized fish that are the centrepiece of the pond. Koi are colourful varieties of carp, and are bred for their size and colour. The longest living Koi who was named Hanako lived 226 years. Koi are a Big Deal and if you ask anyone that has a pond with koi they will tell you how special they are. Koi also recognize who feeds them and will follow that person around the pond and watch them. And they are not cheap~a six inch koi with red patches can cost $3,000.
Of course the specialness of the koi was completely lost on the river otter. Originally hunted for their furs, they can grow to be 1.3 meters long and usually inhabit marshes along the coast. They spend up to 13 months with their mothers and they can live for five years. This particular otter has been feasting on well cared for koi, and has not been responding to trapping techniques to relocate him elsewhere.
As the CBC reports “A river otter on the loose in Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is still playing coy and slaying koi.The elusive creature has been feasting on the prized koi fish in the garden’s pond for several days and has continuously evaded attempts at capture. Park staff have said they are “devastated” by the loss of the beautiful fish.”
In the interim the @Chinatown Otter account has appeared on twitter and right now has 1,888 followers in just a few days. There are even #OtterWatch and #TeamKoi buttons available to show support for one of the sides of this conflict between a river otter used to being in a natural habitat and koi fish, used to being in a protected environment.
There is no doubt that this is an unhappy situation for the Classical Garden with the river otter reportedly eating even more koi. But in a time where Vancouverites are concerned about homelessness, affordable housing, and accessibility watching the antics of the elusive otter has added a diversion and a learning moment. It’s something that happens in Vancouver where nature and a neighbourhood classical garden with an extraordinarily rich historical culture can co-exist.
