Sea otters get the COVID vaccine
Concern over possible risk to popular endangered species prompts preventive care
When Dr. Mike Murray’s needle was ready, the scene gave a new definition to “vaccine hesitant.” There was wriggling and squirming, even with four assistants wearing thick, biteproof gloves holding the patient on a mat with a duffel bag filled with foam.
“Buzz saw in a fur coat,” Murray joked after administering the shot into a patch of thick fur.
It was over in 10 seconds, with no selfies, stickers or lollipops. And California’s latest COVID-19 vaccine recipient was ready to head back into the tank that serves as her temporary home at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The aquarium has begun vaccinating sea otters, a species that is still on the endangered list, in an effort to reduce the risk of a devastating outbreak among the fuzzy, beloved mascots of California’s central coast.
The program, believed to the first in the nation to
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408-920-5000 vaccinate sea otters, is being closely watched by other aquariums and zoos, which are likely to follow suit.
“There’s a lot of evidence that this family of animals — ferrets, mink, otters — are susceptible,” said Murray, the aquarium’s chief veterinarian. “We have an
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Since August, the aquarium has vaccinated eight sea otters, finishing the group this week. Four — Ivy, Abby, Kit and Selka — live in the aquarium and frolic in a big exhibit tank while visitors take photos.
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