Talk about some expensive fish, and one pesky otter…
I’m sure the otter has no idea how much it’s actually costing this hotel, and is just enjoying the seemingly endless supply of delicious, bright colored fish (with each of them costing around $2,500). Otters probably don’t understand the finances behind fancy fish, and to be honest, I don’t think I do either.
After the Grosvenor Pulford Hotel in England noticed that fish from their Asian Sensory Garden pond kept going missing, they became suspicious. What could be causing their beloved fish to disappear out of thin air (or water, I guess), especially with the security systems installed around the koi ponds?
At first, the staff wasn’t all that worried about losing a couple, but as the number kept climbing, they knew they had to do something. The hotel decided to set up security cameras on their fish ponds to see if they could figure out who or what was stealing from them, and lo and behold, they found out.
The footage revealed that a ninja-like otter was working its way around the electric fencing that surrounds the ponds and was pulling in as many fish as it could handle. And it was all that the hotel could handle too, considering that the otter’s antics have cost them over $125,000 in lost fish.
The Grosvenor Pulford Hotel estimates that the otter has made away with 50 fish, which in total are easily valued at over $100,000 U.S. dollars. A representative from the 4-star European hotel made a statement about the illusive otter:
“This gutsy guy has been helping himself to the koi carp who call our grounds home, with around 30 koi plucked from the Asian Sensory Garden pond and a further 20 from our other pond- the otter cheek of it!
As delighted as we are to be playing our part in the local eco-system, we (and the fish) can only hope that the assailant’s visits become at least bit less frequent as he’s racking up quite a bill.”
The hotel says that they and their dedicated grounds team are exploring ways to better secure their ponds, and are also keeping an eye out for the otter. The “Koi Killer” is apparently still at large.
Considering that this otter really seems to know what it’s doing, I might recommend to the hotel that they stop stocking their ponds for the time being. At least until they can catch this criminal otter and get it relocated to a place that won’t be as costly, and especially because it has cost them a boat load of money.
Take a look at the otter in action below:
