What's the View Like From the Bucket, Wee Sea Otter Pup?

Photo by Frankie Gerraty, via Elakha Alliance - they write:

Remember this viral photo of a baby sea otter sitting in a bucket 🦦🪣?

Four years ago in Alaska, this tiny pup was heard crying out in distress after becoming tangled in an active gill net. Acting quickly, Frankie Gerraty gathered fellow sea otter biologists Heather Coletti, Jim Bodkin, and George Esslinger to carefully free the pup from the net before reuniting him with his anxious mom ❤️.

While the photo melted hearts around the world, it also tells an important conservation story.

Discarded fishing nets, fishing line, and other marine debris can have devastating impacts on wildlife. Animals like sea otters, seals, sea lions, seabirds, and whales can become entangled, making it difficult to swim, hunt, breathe, or escape predators. Too often, these encounters don't have such a happy ending.

🐟 If you fish, help protect wildlife by properly disposing of old fishing gear, picking up any line you find, and participating in local cleanup events. Small actions can make a huge difference for the animals that call our oceans home.

Thankfully, this little otter's story had the ending we all hoped for - but it's also a reminder that preventing marine debris is one of the easiest ways we can help keep wildlife safe.