Taxpayers can continue aiding otters

It’s not every day that people want to pay more taxes. But the tug on the heartstrings appears to be opening purse strings for California’s sea otter -- at least for another year.

California taxpayers have voluntarily donated $253,350 so far this year by checking a box on their income tax returns and making donations.

The amount is significant because it ensures that the donation box will appear again on next year’s state income tax returns, funneling more money to the California Sea Otter Fund.

The fund was established in 2006 to help save the southern sea otter, which remains threatened with extinction. Donations must keep flowing, at a rate of a quarter of a million dollars a year, for the fund to stay in operation.