An orphaned sea otter pup rescued in critical condition in British Columbia last month is thriving under 24-hour care, but a veterinarian at the rescue facility says it香蕉视频直播檚 unlikely she will ever be able to return to the wild.
The female pup, named Tofino after a vote conducted on social media, is being looked after at the Vancouver Aquarium香蕉视频直播檚 Marine Mammal Rescue Society, where she has grown from about two kilograms to more than three kilograms.
Society executive director and head veterinarian Martin Haulena says Tofino is hitting many milestones in her recovery and growth, is eating well, and may transition from formula to solid food in a few weeks.
Haulena says Tofino has shown interest in diving when placed in the water and has improved her swimming, manual dexterity and self-grooming.
The pup was rescued alone near her namesake town on the west coast of Vancouver Island in mid-June.
Haulena says while the pup香蕉视频直播檚 ultimate fate depends on Fisheries and Oceans Canada, orphaned otters are poor candidates for re-release because pups are typically taught how to survive in the wild by their mothers.
香蕉视频直播淥tters are very, very dependent on their mom,香蕉视频直播� Haulena says. 香蕉视频直播淭hey learn a lot from their mom. They learn how to forage from their mom, learn where to forage, what to forage, how to use tools, how to dive and how to escape from predators. All (that) is very learned behaviour.香蕉视频直播�
Rescuers do not know what became of Tofino香蕉视频直播檚 mother but it is very unusual for pups to be abandoned.
香蕉视频直播淪ea otter moms are meticulous and very caring mothers,香蕉视频直播� Haulena says. 香蕉视频直播淭hey are very responsive to their pups, so the assumption is 香蕉视频直播� when there is an orphan pup 香蕉视频直播� is that something bad has happened to mother.香蕉视频直播�
A sea otter pup rescued in 2020, a male nicknamed Joey, was eventually transferred from the rescue society to Vancouver Aquarium after 33 days of care and is still housed there.
Haulena says the public attention on the rescue society generated by Tofino is the highest he has seen since Joey香蕉视频直播檚 rescue in 2020, and the society is seeking donations to support the cost of caring for the pup and other animals at the centre.
He says the pup is no longer in critical condition, spending periods of 20 to 45 minutes in the water.
香蕉视频直播淪he香蕉视频直播檚 made a few attempts, but she can香蕉视频直播檛 dive yet. And that香蕉视频直播檚 very normal for a pup of her age, but in the next few weeks, I expect she will pick that up or certainly within the next month,香蕉视频直播� Haulena says.
He says she is 香蕉视频直播渙n track and doing well.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e been doing this for a lot of years, and I know that things can go wrong. So I香蕉视频直播檓 always a little bit cautious, but I香蕉视频直播檒l describe it as cautiously optimistic at this point.香蕉视频直播�
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