Shedd Aquarium Travels to Alaska to Help Out a Rescued Sea Otter Pup

On September 7, the Alaska SeaLife Center rescued an abandoned sea otter pup and called in staff from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium to help out! Watch the above video to see how little Kasilof is doing!

Shedd Aquarium writes:

The otter was estimated by ASLC’s staff veterinarians to be 2 months old when he was admitted to the center’s Wildlife Response and Rehabilitation Program on Sept. 7. He had been found alone on a beach in Kasilof, on the Kenai Peninsula. The pup was starving and dehydrated, and his insulating pup fur was in bad condition, leaving him vulnerable to life-threatening hypothermia.

At the center, he immediately received fluids, including nutrient-packed formula, soft towels to lie on and, as he stabilized, a name―Kasilof. Because the young pup lacks survival skills and needs long-term rehabilitation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that he cannot be released back into the wild.

Right now, trainer Maura Redding, one of Shedd’s sea otter experts, is in Seward helping with Kasilof’s intensive care, which includes bottle-feeding him every three hours, offering solid foods like bits of fish and clam, giving medications, cleaning his habitat, observing his behavior and grooming him to restore his fur... As the pup recovers, his care will include training to give him the grooming, swimming, diving, foraging and other essential skills that he would have learned from his mother during his first nine months.

Sea Otter Awareness Week continues! Click here to find an event near you!