Kit the sea otter pup has proven to be quite a personality since going on exhibit February 18. Thousands of visitors have enjoyed watching her play with enrichment toys, crawl into buckets, munch ice, and tussle with her nine-year-old companion, Mae. And she’s been eating like a typical adolescent, going from 15 to 22 pounds on exhibit. Pretty precocious pup!
But there are still a few sea otter skills Kit hasn’t mastered. For instance, she’s flummoxed by tightly closed clams and live crabs. And she won’t often go into the back of the exhibit where we can offer live food and do health checks.
So for all these reasons, Kit is being taken off exhibit for a while, starting April 5. There, behind the scenes, she’ll be able to interact with other otters and learn important life lessons. Don’t worry: she’ll be back—a little bigger perhaps, but as rambunctious as ever, and hopefully with a few more skills in her repertoire.
In place of Kit and Mae, you’ll see two familiar and just as popular otters: Toola, who is 12-13 years old; and Joy, who is 11. Toola has been behind the scenes rearing another rescued pup, which has now been weaned. It will be great to have them back!
Kit a “Success Story”Kit, found stranded in Morro Bay in early January, was the youngest otter pup ever to go on exhibit at the Aquarium, and she’s been a resounding hit. “It’s been very successful,” says Associate Curator of Mammals, Chris DeAngelo. “She really enjoys her enrichment sessions—she’s having a blast out there.” And her ravenous appetite is proof of her health and vitality. “She’s definitely at the high end of the growth curve,” says Chris.
But the long-term goal is for Kit to be a companion animal – or even a surrogate mother – and help raise other rescued pups. To do that, she’ll need to be able to impart crucial otter survival skills. Foremost among these is the ability to eat live crab—a critical prey item for otters in the wild. “It’s an essential skill,” says Chris. “They have to invert the crab and handle it upside down or they’ll get pinched.” And for now, Kit just doesn’t get it. Chris hopes this will change once she begins to interact with other otters off exhibit, particularly Rosa, who is currently rearing a pup of her own. “Kit is also of an age that it will do her some good to be introduced to another female/pup pair,” says Chris. “That pup is only four weeks older than Kit—they’re close enough in age to enjoy wrestling and play time.”
One reason Kit isn’t learning to handle live prey is that Mae limits how often Kit goes to the back of the exhibit, where such feedings occur. Mae can be “overly protective,” says Chris. “She feels more secure on exhibit.” Sometimes Kit will start to go into the back of the exhibit, but “if Mae gets nervous, she will literally pull her out.” (To get a better idea of how this works, watch Mae “affectionately” drag Kit out of a kennel at the beginning of this video. That’s what friends are for!)
Kit’s temporary stay behind the scenes is all part of the normal rotation of otters at the Aquarium, says Chris. Otters routinely go off exhibit, to be companions to other animals, learn new skills, and most importantly, to rear pups for release to the wild as part of our Sea Otter Research and Conservation program.
“Kit’s just like our other otters,” says Chris. “She’s a permanent resident, so she’ll come and go as part of our normal social rotation.”
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