Recent sea otters admitted to the Wildlife Response Program trigger need for support

Recent sea otters admitted to the Wildlife Response Program trigger need for support - Alaska Sealife Center

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ALASKA SEALIFE CENTERさん(@alaskasealifecenter)がシェアした投稿 - 2018年11月月27日午前8時51分PST

Loyce the sea otter dies at the age of 13

ラッコの「ロイズ」天国へ | イベント･新着情報 | 鳥羽水族館公式ホームページ

At the age of 13, Loyce the sea otter passed away at 11:18 A.M. October 31, 2018 at Toba Aquairum, Japan.

Loyce was born in the Adventure World (Shirahama-town, Wakayama) on May 4, 2005. He was transferred to Toba Aquairum for breeding in January 2009, then to Sunshine Aquairum (Ikebukuro, Tokyo) in March 2014. He came back to Toba Aquairum in March 2013 and was thriving until yesterday.

Loyce did not have a chance to leave his own offspring; however, being good at tricking, he was always one of the most popular characters and the center of public attention at the Aquarium. He was so serious that he did perfectly what he learned, which amazed the staffs. We remember his still posture after showing tricks.

As his appetite had declined and not been stable since this summer, staffs had monitored him carefully. During the feeding time at 9:40 A.M. yesterday, October 31st, he was swimming energetically and ate up all his food. Around 11:00 A.M, his condition has taken a sudden turn for the demise at 11:18 A.M. The initial necropsy showed that the cause of the death was acute heart failure, but we are currently conducting pathological examination.

"As he had a good appetite this morning, I am just struck by his sudden death, which I could not imagine at all, " says one of the keepers, "Loyce was intelligent and serious. It's a shame that we cannot see him. I am in grief for his loss, but at the same time, I am grateful that he taught us a lot of things, of which we can take advantage in the future. Thank you, Loyce."

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Male, 13 years old. Under human care for 4928 days.
05/04/2005 Born in Adventure World (Shirahama-town, Wakayama)
01/29/2009 Transferred to Toba Aquairum for breeding loan to pair up with May
03/21/2014 Transferred to Sunshine Aquairum (Ikebukuro, Tokyo) to pair up with Mir.
03/02/2016 Transferred back to Toba Aquairum to pair up with May.

*As of today, Toba Aquairum provides care for one sea otter (May: female, 14 years old).
*There are 9 sea otters under human care in 7 aquariums and zoos in Japan.

Sea otters in captivity: the past and the future

神戸市立 須磨海浜水族園さん(@sumasui_kobe)がシェアした投稿 - 2018年 3月月1日午前4時11分PST

須磨海浜水族園のなかまたち：ラッコ飼育のこれまでとこれから　高齢化と繁殖難しく減少　／兵庫 - 毎日新聞

Sea otters, adorable creatures floating on their back, might not be seen in Japanese aquariums in near future. Today, Suma Aqualife Park KOBE is home to two sea otters: a 19-year-old female and a 20-year-old male who came as a potential mate from Niigata City Aquarium. The average age of sea otters in Japanese aquariums is 15 years old, which indicates the severe of captive animals who live typically 15 to 20 years. Also, the number of animals in captivity dropped from 122 in 1994 to 10 as of today. Why did this happen?

There may be two prominent reasons.
 First, import of sea otters from overseas has ceased. Sea otters range off the North Pacific and divided in three subspecies by the habitat: northern sea otter, southern sea otter and Asian sea otter. Most animals accepted in Japanese aquariums are the northern subspecies. Although wild population has reportedly increased in some areas today, the population was decreased to near extinction from late 18th century to early 20th century due to over hunting for the fine fur and the sea otter has listed as endangered by IUCN. It was in 1982 when Japan first imported sea otters from the United States. Subsequently, trading of sea otters has regulated by CITES, and 1998 was the last year when Japan imported sea otters from the United States.

 Second, breeding otters born in captivity has not worked very well. Of 300 sea otters in Japanese aquariums two thirds were born in captivity and most of them did not have parents born in captivity but parents captured in the wild. Wild animals can learn how to nurse their young and how to mate from others, but captive animals have much less opportunities to do so. Mating of sea otters can be very aggressive and a male often holds a female from back and bites her nose. In captivity some males give up to mate once they are denied by females. We have worked to promote the breeding in captivity by making efforts such as showing otters videos of mating behaviors, exchanging animals with other facilities and adjust the hours of daylight to their habitat in the wild; however, it was 2002 when we successfully saw reproduction. Breeding may be difficult in the future, but we can continue to collect data which can help us understand the reproductive physiology by investigating the sex hormones which are found in sea otter feces. 

We will continue to study sea otters in captivity so that we can help more people to learn sea otter ecology and their difficult situation in captivity. ( Yuki Kurisu, Suma Aqualife Park, Japan)

Translation by sea otter channel