The Vancouver Aquarium has a new resident: an orphaned sea otter pup discovered on a beach in Kyuquot on the Island’s west coast last month.
The pup, named Joey, was about 10 days old when it was found near a dead adult otter, presumed to be its mother.
It was transported to Vancouver’s Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, where it has been receiving around-the-clock care in the hope that it can be reintroduced to the wild.
While the pup is now “stabilized and stronger,” it has been deemed “non-releasable” due to its young age and inability to survive alone. It will eventually live with the aquarium’s six other rescued otters.
Because sea otter pups are “incredibly dependent” on their mothers in their first six months, “we’ve had to begin teaching Joey all of his essential sea otter life skills,” said Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.
“Everything from learning to groom himself, to swimming and feeding — these are all things mom would normally have taught him in the wild and Joey didn’t have that opportunity.”
According to the aquarium, Canada’s sea otters were hunted to extinction for their thick fur. The animals were reintroduced to British Columbia in the 1970s. Although the populations are growing, they are still considered to be a species of special concern.
