Abby, a California sea otter pup, is cared for by Mark Bressler, senior animal care specialist at SeaWorld San Diego. The Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center found the otter stranded and near comatose on Jalama Beach, north of Santa Barbara, Calif., on July 21 and brought it to SeaWorld for rehabilitation. The female pup, which was estimated to be less than a week old when rescued, is being bottle-fed around the clock at SeaWorld and weighs approximately four pounds.
When the young otter was rescued, she was dehydrated, hypoglycemic, having difficulty maintaining her body temperature and weighed about three pounds (sea otter pups weigh between three and five pounds at birth). At first, the otter was too weak to nurse and had to be tube-fed. Animal care specialists eventually were able to get her to drink from a bottle. The otter pup is showing signs of progress, including nursing from a bottle regularly, and maintaining a normal body temperature of 99 to 100 degrees F.
The California sea otter is listed as a threatened species by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Threats include oil spills, entanglement in fishing nets and disease. The three California sea otters now on display at SeaWorld's Rocky Point Preserve were originally stranded and rescued as part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) Program.
Since 1965, SeaWorld San Diego has rescued thousands of animals and has treated as many as 475 marine mammals in one year. SeaWorld has raised three other orphaned otters in the last 15 years, in cooperation with Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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