Otter News Archive

Baby sea otter finds new home

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24th May 2010

Mary Pemberton

Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A baby sea otter found alone and without its mother on a Kodiak Island beach has a new home at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

The newborn, named Kaladi, was probably just a couple of days old and weighed less than 3 pounds when found last week on the shore at Mayflower Cove, said Tim Lebling, the center's stranding coordinator.

Its umbilical cord was still attached and there was not another sea otter in sight, which is unusual, Lebling said Monday. "Especially at this age, the moms and pups really don't separate from each other."

Finding Kaladi was like finding a treasure, he said. Northern sea otters in southwest Alaska have declined to the point where they are now considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The couple who found Kaladi did the right thing, Lebling said. They observed the pup for a long time to make sure the mom wasn't around and then notified officials at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, who got in touch with the SeaLife Center in Seward.

Angie Johnson, a local veterinarian at the Kodiak Veterinary Clinic, helped stabilize the pup for transport by giving her fluids while a flight to Anchorage was arranged. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee at the refuge also helped by giving the pup fluids during an overnight stay.

"That was what really saved her life," Lebling said.

Once the very vocal pup arrived aboard an Era Aviation-donated flight, a veterinary team from the SeaLife Center performed a basic exam and found that she was in good condition. Kaladi was encouraged to suckle sea otter formula from a baby bottle on her drive to Seward.

"Fortunately, the pup was found and taken care of by the right people," said Brett Long, the center's husbandry director.

Kaladi will remain in the center's nursery under quarantine until she is ready for a permanent home elsewhere. She won't be able to be released back to the wild because sea otter pups require 24-hour-a-day care by staff who become surrogate mothers.

At this age, sea otters need to eat 30 percent of their body weight every day. Kaladi in the last five days has gained a pound, Lebling said.

Kaladi is expected to stay at the SeaLife Center for another month or two.

Lebling said several aquariums, including ones in New York, Seattle and Chicago, have expressed interest in giving the pup a permanent home.

"They are amazingly playful animals. At this age, they are incredibly cute," he said.