Otter News Archive
Saving 3 pounds of furry, fluffy joy
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2nd June 2010
The Seward Phoenix Log, Seward, Alaska, USA
There's a new rescued sea otter at the Alaska SeaLife Center, and she weighs in at just around 3 pounds.
Kaladi was discovered by a couple on the shores of Mayflower Cove in Kodiak last month.
The very young otter had lost her mother and was on the beach alone, according to the SeaLife Center.
The couple contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, who then notified the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.
A local veterinarian assisted in evaluating and stabilizing the female pup by giving her fluids while transportation was being arranged.
"We appreciate the help provided by Tonya Lee of the USFWS and Dr. Angie Johnson of the Kodiak Veterinary Clinic," says Brett Long, husbandry director at the Alaska SeaLife Center. "Fortunately, the pup was found and taken care of by the right people."
Era Aviation donated a flight to Anchorage, where a veterinary team from the center performed a basic exam and found the pup in good condition.
They administered additional fluids and encouraged her to nurse from a bottle during the drive to Seward.
Staff members named her Kaladi in keeping with this year's theme of caffeine-related products.
"Kaladi weighed less than 3 pounds when admitted, so she was probably under two days old," says Tim Lebling, the Alaska SeaLife Center's stranding coordinator. "Her mother may have abandoned her soon after giving birth, though we rarely know how an animal gets orphaned."
Although she is still very fragile and needs plenty of sleep, Kaladi is in stable condition and has become adept at suckling sea otter formula from a baby bottle. She will remain at the center until a permanent home is identified and she is stable enough for transport.
Kaladi will stay in the quarantined nursery, where live camera feeds will allow many center visitors to watch her on a video display in the exhibit area.
The Alaska SeaLife Center operates the only permanent facility in the state that is licensed to hold stranded marine mammals and seabirds for rehabilitation. Because sea otter pups demand 24-hour-a-day, hands-on care by staff members at the center who become their surrogate mothers, they cannot be released to the wild after rehabilitation.