Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Vancouver Aquarium caring for injured sea otter found on Wash. state beach

CP19647310
An injured male sea otter believed to be more than 10 years old rests at the Vancouver Aquarium\'s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday August 3, 2012. The otter is suffering from flipper trauma and was rescued on the shores of the Quinault Indian Nation in northwest Washington state and brought to the rescue centre for long-term treatment. The centre rescued more than 150 stranded marine mammals in 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER – Veterinarians at the Vancouver Aquarium have an out-of-town patient who they hope may recover enough to one day return to the wild.

The adult male sea otter has been named Quinault (kwin-OW), after the Washington-state Indian nation were he was found on July 9.

The severely malnourished mammal received emergency care until he could be moved, then he was sent Aug. 1 to the aquarium in Vancouver.

Veterinarian Chelsea Anderson says Quinault’s flippers were badly swollen when he was found on the beach and he was unable to even get in and out of a small pool on his own.

He’s now able to get in and out of his pool at the Aquarium’s Marine Rescue Centre, but staff still have to monitor him around the clock, and Anderson says the otter has a long road ahead to recovery.

Once common across the Pacific rim from northern Japan to Baja, California, sea otters were hunted near to extinction during the fur trade and they are listed as a species of special concern in Canada.

News from © The Canadian Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

Related Articles