As of early May 2016, the Alaska SeaLife Center is caring for seven sea otters, including two pups that require round-the-clock care. For reasons scientists don't fully understand, otters are showing up sick, dying or distressed in unprecedented numbers. Last year there were more than 300 reports in the region, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
In this video, staff of the SeaLife Center in Seward introduce some of the otters and talk about what it takes to care for them before they can be transferred to a permanent home at a zoo elsewhere.