Olive the sea otter has moved north near to lovely Capitola by the Sea and seems to be settling in. Two weeks ago and then again yesterday she was identified both by radio frequency and by her distinct light blue toe tags. This area, with its dense kelp beds and relative protection from strong winter storms, is heavily used as a pupping area by female sea otters so she has lots of girlfriends and youngsters to hand out with. Ben Wieitzman saw her resting with about 6 other otters. She then swam around and began interacting with several of them for about 10 minutes before she settled back in to rest. Since sea otters are raised alone and usually weaned before another pup is born they may learn some of their mothering skills by interacting with other unrelated females. Ben was also was able to take a picture of her new spot with his iPhone. Her response to washing and recovery will be the subject of a talk to be given at the Effects of Oil on Wildlife conference in Tallin, Estonia next week and will also be featured at the November 12 installment of the Ken Norris Memorial Lecture Series at the Seymore Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz "Exxon Valdez: Oil to Olive" with Drs. Terrie Williams and Dave Jessup.