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For Immediate Release
Contact: Kelly Lessard (952) 431-9217
Apple Valley, MINN – The Minnesota Zoo has released footage and photographs of two new sea otter pups from Alaska now under its care. The otters will make their public debut in June, 2008 when the Zoo opens its new exhibit, Russia’s Grizzly Coast.
The rescued pups, “Jasper” and “Rocky,” arrived at the Minnesota Zoo on August 31, 2007 after being rehabilitated at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska this past summer. The zoo and aquarium community came to the aid of the SeaLife Center by sending two caregivers to help care for the pups. Minnesota Zoo Zoologist Melanie Oerter spent two-and-a-half weeks in Alaska in late August learning to care for the pups and assisting with their transport to the Minnesota Zoo. A senior biologist from the Georgia Aquarium was also part of the team.
"I've been in love with sea otters since seeing them as a child off the central California coast,” said Minnesota Zoo Director/CEO Lee Ehmke. “We are excited to create the opportunity for many other people to become similarly enchanted when we open Russia's Grizzly Coast, which will provide a state-of-the-art home to these young otters. Together with this wonder and excitement, we hope to convey the fragility of the remaining wild populations of sea otters, and how personal choices made by our guests can help ensure the continued survival of these extraordinary animals."
Jasper, rescued near Homer, Alaska, arrived at the Alaska SeaLife Center between 2-4 weeks of age on June 29. Rocky arrived at the Center dehydrated on July 31 after being observed for more than 10 hours in Craig, Alaska. The staff cared for the otters around the clock, providing naps, feeding and baths. At the Minnesota Zoo, the pups continue to receive 24-hour care including feeding, swimming, playing, grooming and sleeping. Currently the pups are eating formula and a variety of whole fish and shellfish. As they grow and mature, they will slowly be weaned off the formula. They gain about 100-200 grams daily and are learning to groom themselves, dive, and play–interactions that will help them in the future to live together in their new home in Russia's Grizzly Coast.
Sea otters, which are threatened under the Endangered Species Act, are found in the Pacific Ocean and eat 20 to 25 percent of their weight daily. Unlike other marine mammals, they lack blubber to keep them warm and instead rely on their hyper-charged metabolism and dense fur to survive near-freezing waters. They wear the thickest fur in the animal kingdom, at one million hairs per square inch. Otters can quickly die from hypothermia if their fur becomes matted or soiled with oil or other pollutants, which is why they meticulously groom for several hours daily. Sea otters along with primates are among the very few animals that use tools.
The Minnesota Zoo is located in Apple Valley, Minnesota and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. For more information, call 952.431.9500
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