VICTORIA --
An orphaned sea otter pup is in the care of veterinarians in Vancouver after it was discovered alone on a beach on Vancouver Island’s north coast.
The pup was discovered near Port Hardy on Sunday, prompting a flurry of phone calls to the Marine Education and Research Society and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Within hours of the first call, the young female otter was picked up by a volunteer and driven to Campbell River, where it was loaded onto a Pacific Coastal Airlines flight bound for Vancouver.
“We were able to get the animal into the hands of staff within seven hours of the phone call,” says Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, where the otter is now undergoing rehabilitation.