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Alaska SeaLife Center Rehabs Baby Otter For New Home at Vancouver Aquarium

Otter CU

This orphaned female Sea Otter pup was rescued off the side of a road by Alaska SeaLife Center volunteers on October 19, 2012, after efforts to locate her mother were unsuccessful and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the intervention.The pup was immediately transferred to its I.Sea.U. critical care unit in Seward, Alaska for emergency treatment. She was estimated to be approximately eight weeks old when found, and was deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to the maternal care required by young otters.

She has just been transferred from the Alaska SeaLife Center to its new permanent home at the Vancouver Aquarium, which will allow the pup to receive the ongoing care and companionship she needs. Described as playful, and sometimes mischievous, she has adjusted well and soon will be introduced to Tanu and Elfin -- two Sea Otters who were also found stranded as pups and rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center in years past.

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Otter look

Otter side

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Photo Credit: Alaska SeaLife Center

Local students from the Alaska SeaLife Center’s Ocean Sciences Club provided three possible Alaskan names for the baby Otter: Susitna, Katmaiand Glacier. The final choice will be made through a voting contest held by the Vancouver Aquarium. 

Learn more of this story of teamwork below the fold:

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Tan-and-pup

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Otter trainers

According to Brett Long, Alaska SeaLife Center husbandry director, “Getting this Otter pup to her new home would not have been possible without two key partnerships – with the Vancouver Aquarium in day-to-day care over the past few months, and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who facilitated the permits required for the international transfer.”

Once the pup was stabilized and its care regime established, the Alaska SeaLife Center invited Vancouver Aquarium’s animal care team to help provide intensive, around-the-clock care —a collaboration that helps to expand rescue and rehabilitation expertise across North American teams.

Brian Sheehan, Vancouver Aquarium Curator of Marine Mammals said, “Over the past 17 weeks, our team has rotated shifts—flying to and from Alaska to help share our expertise and care for the pup—and spent many long hours providing around-the-clock, rehabilitative care. We’ve already established a special bond with her and are so pleased to welcome her to her new home at the Aquarium.” 

Vancouver Aquarium has been one of the leading facilities in North America to work with rescued sea otters, as its participation in the rescue, rehabilitation, breeding, care and expertise is recognized by peers around the world.

The Alaska SeaLife Center operates a 24-hour hotline for the public to report stranded marine mammals or birds, and encourages people who have found a stranded or sick marine animal to avoid touching or approaching the animal; instead, those individuals should call 1-888-774- SEAL (7325).

The Alaska SeaLife Center is a private non-profit research institution and visitor attraction which generates and shares scientific knowledge to promote understanding and stewardship of Alaska’s marine ecosystems. The Alaska SeaLife Center is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.

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