Otterly Awesome Rescues
There’s Hardy anything cuter than our sea otters here at the Aquarium! Delve into the special rescue stories that brought all of our sea otters to the aquarium. We will discover the who’s, why’s, and how’s of rescuing this iconic “keystone” species, and explore their important role in the ocean ecosystem.
In our third JBC session this season, we explore the importance of our sea otters in the natural environment, and how ours came to live at the aquarium. We also look at other rescue stories from our Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, and take on the role of the Department of Fisheries in deciding whether or not these animals should be deemed releasable or not!
What did we do today?
- Got hands on with some sea otter props, including a pelt, a sea otter skull, and two species that sea otters love to eat - sea urchins and abalone.
- Created a sea otter food web, and brainstormed the effects on the food web when sea otters are removed. We then linked this to the fur trade, when sea otter fur was so prized that otters were hunted to extinction along BC's coast.
- Made some sea otter observations, using our fact sheets to distinguish between our six sea otters.
- Learned about the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, and exactly what they do at our offsite hospital.
- Took on the role of the Department of Fisheries, reviewing case studies of various rescue stories and trying to decide if the animals should be deemed releasable or not based on the DFO guidelines.
Questions to ask your Jr. Biologist
- What are some of the distinguishing features of our sea otters? (Tanu – most blonde, swims on back, Catmai – some blonde, mischievous, Mak – pronounced sternum, whiskers turn up on right side, Kunik – female, narrow face, playful, Rialto – male, broader face, bump on stomach where reproductive organs are, Hardy – smallest, some blonde, vocalizes)
- What happened to the food web when sea otters were removed? What is a keystone species? (the entire food web was disrupted, keystone species: a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically)
- What kind of animals does the marine mammal rescue program accept? (any marine mammal – harbour seals, Steller sea lions, northern fur seals, northern elephant seals, sea otters, some cetaceans, etc., have also been involved in rescue of sea turtles)
- What dangers do marine mammals face? (oil spills, encounters with boats, entanglement in fishing gear, beaching, illness, pollution, disability, abandonment)
- Give examples of the questions the Department of Fisheries asks when trying to decide if an animal is releasable or not. (length of time in human care, is it habituated to people/does it associate food with people, how old when rescued, what was wrong with it, has it proven itself to be able to catch live fish?)
