second book of Ann McCaffrey's science-fiction The Twins of Petaybee series, Maelstrom, features a species of shape-changing deep-sea otter that refer to themselves as Kushtaka. The Kushtaka is the main antagonist in the Bill Schweigert novel The Beast of Barcroft (2015). They are also depicted in the book Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural by Mary Giraudo Beck. References Alaska folklore Tlingit mythology Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America Legendary mammals Shapeshifting