Featured Image Credit:Jeff Foot/National Geographic
By: Alice Morris
After a sad and troubling month that saw the death of two beloved beluga whales, the Vancouver Aquarium finally had some good news to share with its visitors as it has selected names for its two rescued Alaskan sea otter pups.
The sea otters arrived at the aquarium in the beginning of November. The male pup was found in Kachemak Bay in Alaska and he’s been aptly named Mak after his place of rescue.
The female pup, which was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on a beach southwest of Anchorage, has been named Kunik after the Inuktitut word for “kiss” and the traditional Inuit greeting.
The pups are believed to have been abandoned by their mothers at a very young age and since they were too young to have learned any survival skills, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services have deemed them non-releasable.
Brian Sheehan, Vancouver Aquarium’s curator of marine mammals had the following to say about the sea otters’ rescues:
The pups, having gained some weight since their rescues, are now settling into their new home nicely.
The Vancouver Aquarium is considered one of North America’s top facilities for sea otter care.
As much as ninety percent of the world’s sea otter population lives in Alaska’s coastal waters. Sea otters face a number of threats in the wild, including predation from killer whales. Subpopulations of sea otters have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
You can read more about Mak and Kunik’s rescues and check out all the Vancouver Aquarium has to offer at http://www.vanaqua.org.