YouTube-starring Vancouver Aquarium sea otter dies

by Amy Judd | September 24, 2008 at 05:00 am
1130 views | 13 Recommendations | 6 comments

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Sea Otters

Sea Otters

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Nyac: famous holding-hand otter dies

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sourced by Amy Judd

Nyac: famous holding-hand otter dies

Nyac, a 20-year-old sea otter died of leukemia yesterday at the Vancouver Aquarium.

She was one of the most popular animals at the Aquarium, was a survivor of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill, and was also one of the stars of the famous YouTube video of two otters holding hands.

At six months old and too weak to be released into the wild after the spill, she came to the aquarium after being rescued by aquarium staff.

At age 20, she was one of the longest-surviving otters in captivity.

Nyac was often seen floating on her back nibbling food between her paws. Her agile movements and splashy attitude won the hearts of visitors and staff at the aquarium.

"Having survived such a traumatic event and overcoming incredible odds at such a young age, her life has been an amazing journey for all of us to share," said Clint Wright, senior vice-president of aquarium operations and planning.

According to the aquarium, Nyac was the only known survivor of the Exxon Valdez oil spill to have successfully had a pup in an aquarium: a female named Kipnuk born in 1993, which was sent to an aquarium in Belgium.

The aquarium said Nyac's life will continue to provide vital information on the long-term effects of oil exposure.

Sea Otters are a threatened species in Canada. Their population in BC is about 3,200 and growing.

Nyac however, will be missed.

It is also 'Sea Otter Awareness' week at the Aquarium, so it's an unfortunate time for Nyac's passing.

Sea Otter Awareness Week began five years ago to educate the public about sea otters, their history and the conservation issues they are facing. Sea otters numbered in the hundreds of thousands two and a half centuries ago, but over-hunting in the 18th century nearly led to their extinction. Today, there are between 65,000 and 90,000 sea otters worldwide. Once extinct in British Columbia, 89 sea otters were reintroduced here between 1969 and 1972 and since then that number has grown substantially, now totalling 3,200.
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Rachel Nixon

I'm truly saddened by this. I loved watching the otters at the aquarium and Nyac was still going strong until recently. She wasn't there on my last visit and I wondered what had happened to her.

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altrugon

I remember her too, floating and holding hands.

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chowdawg

The otters are my favorite; I could watch them for hours.  Sad news about our beloved Nyac, she will be missed.

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Amy Judd

The otters are my favourite too - I think she was just so cute. It is too bad that she didn't live for longer, but at least 20 years was a pretty good run.

Barbara McPherson
Barbara McPherson
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:43 on September 24th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

theunderminer
theunderminer
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:34 on September 24th, 2008

amyjudd, sad! I love otters. Bye little guy...er...girl!

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

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Barbara McPherson
First Flagged at 10:43 AM, Sep 24, 2008 by Barbara McPherson
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