VANCOUVER, Canada – A male sea otter pup is receiving around-the-clock care in Vancouver after people pulled the animal from the water after seeing it swimming alone in open water on Sunday.
PHOTOS: Baby sea otter pup lives at Vancouver Aquarium
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The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Center posted video on Facebook of its staff caring for the pup, which is estimated to be just two to four weeks old.
A tiny male sea otter pup — estimated to be just two to four weeks old — is now in 24-hour care at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, after concerned members of the public found it swimming alone in open water off northern Vancouver Island on Sunday. Although the pup appears healthy, he requires care night and day from the Rescue Centre team, just as he would from his mother. Staff and volunteers are spending shifts feeding, bathing and grooming the newborn pup, which has not yet been named.
Posted by Vancouver Aquarium on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
The aquarium’s post reads: “Although the pup appears healthy, he requires care night and day from the Rescue Centre team, just as he would from his mother. Staff and volunteers are spending shifts feeding, bathing and grooming the newborn pup, which has not yet been named.”
After birth, sea otters spend about six months with their mothers, nursing, being groomed by her and learning to forage and be a sea otter, the aquarium said in the comments.
“This little guy is still a fully dependent pup,” the aquarium said. “He would not survive on his own, and we’re providing him with the care he needs right now.”
In a subsequent post about the sea otter pup, the aquarium reminded people about distressed animals:
"REMINDER: Distressed animals should be reported first rather than taken from the ocean. Once they’re removed from the wild, it’s impossible to determine if the mother is alive and if they could have been reunited, or if bringing them in was the appropriate action.
What to do if you see what appears to be a stranded marine mammal:
- Do not approach it, and keep pets away.
- Call the our Rescue Centre at 604.258.SEAL (7325),
- Do not move the animal unless instructed to do so."