Baby Sea Otter Comes Home to New York Aquarium

Daily News

Jon Dohlin (WCS New York Aquarium Director): We received a call from the Alaska
Sea Life Center that a young pup had been found stranded on the shores of
Homer, Alaska. The Alaska Sea Life Center works with stranding work up
in Alaska and they take in sea mammals to up down that part of the
Alaskan Coast. We worked with them in the past. We are part of a
consortium here in North America one of relatively few facilities that has
experienced caring for sea otters and exhibiting sea otters successfully.

This pop was a quite the child because he was so young, required round-a-
clock care, was nursing and so they asked us if A: we were ready to take
an otter which of course we were and B: if we could get somebody out
there as soon as possible to learn the procedures, pick up on all of the care
patterns and help acclimatize the animal and acclimate the animal to a trip
to come out here.

Nicole Piscotta: (WCS New York Aquarium Wild Animal Keeper): It was very
exciting we got this phone call and the curator asked me to go out there
and get to learn a tazo and learn what it’s like to work with them and how
to care for them, brand new baby sea otter who doesn’t have a mother so it
was a real exciting experience from the sea life center which is in Alaska.
We had to drive to anchorage where the airport is and he did not want to
be in the kennel so the entire time we pretty much sat on my lap.

Jon Dohlin (WCS New York Aquarium Director): He has now gotten his vaccine. He’s
been allowed to get outside so he’s been exposed to outside air and he’s
completely healthy doing great so the next up is we’ll move him over here
to our sea clips exhibits. He’ll get to meet visually and through smell
faction are existing otter Jacob whose about 6 years old and if everything
goes well then they’ll be allowed physical contact and get to know one
another assuming that they’re socialized well together and they’ll get
along great and they’ll get out here on exhibit and we hope that would be
happening sometime in December actually.

So we’ll see out here on public display hopefully before Christmas which
would be a nice present for all our visitors here at the Aquarium.