Three sea otters were shot and killed at the Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove of northern California's Monterey Bay Peninsula, NBC reported.
The slayings of the endangered species, protected by the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, have been deemed "baseless" and "tragic" by conservationists, given the efforts in place to protect them.
"These baseless killings are nothing short of acts of barbarism," Kim Delfino of Defenders of Wildlife told KSBW.com. a local news website. "Sea otters are one of the charismatic species that make our country such a special place, and we must do all that we can to protect and champion these imperiled animals."
"With all of the natural threats and human-caused problems facing sea otters, it's especially tragic that a person would set out to intentionally kill these sea otters," said Andrew Johnson, Sea Otter Research and Conservation Program Manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Federal wildlife officials are offering a $21,000 reward for information that leads directly to an arrest. They'll likely be able to offset all of that if they do catch the shooter(s) and impose the $100,000 fine such crimes can command, according to KSBW.com.
"With so few southern sea otters surviving in the wild, we need to do everything we can protect them," said Jim Curland, Advocacy Program Director, Friends of the Sea Otter. "Killing a defenseless animal is a horrific act and should not go unpunished."
Sea otters were once hunted for their fur, which has decreased their numbers from 16,000 throughout the state to just 3,000 today.
