Otter sighting shuts down Vancouver Chinese garden, 3 koi dead | iNFOnews.ca
A man looks at the water at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, which was reopened after being closed when a river otter took up residence in the garden and ate numerous valuable koi fish, in Vancouver on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. A garden pond in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver is temporarily closed after an otter and three koi carcasses were spotted Wednesday morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Otter sighting shuts down Vancouver Chinese garden, 3 koi dead

VANCOUVER – A pond in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver is temporarily closed after an otter and three koi carcasses were spotted Wednesday morning.

The Vancouver Park Board says in a statement released Saturday that staff acted immediately and lowered the pond's water levels to remove remaining koi.

Staff and partners set a live trap for the otter, which has not yet been captured.

The board says six large koi and 74 small ones were removed from the pond Friday and are being housed off-site for now.

It says it expects to be able to refill the pond, which staff continued to sweep Saturday to ensure no koi remain, some time in the next 48 hours and reopen the garden.

Earlier this year, an elusive otter closed the garden for a week and forced koi to be removed from the pond after it started feasting on the fish, which embody positive connotations, such as good luck, abundance and perseverance, for many Asian cultures.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2019.

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Parker Crook

Parker Crook is a Saskatchewan-born reporter who began his career in journalism while studying the craft at SAIT in Calgary. After cutting his teeth at the school news outlet as the Opinions Editor, Parker landed a position at a Vernon newspaper and worked his way up to the editor’s chair. Parker strives to tell stories that have a genuine impact on the community he calls home. And, from courtroom dramas to on stage antics, Parker believes meaningful stories can be found just about anywhere.

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