Seattle Aquarium Teaches Asthmatic Otter To Use Inhaler

Remember Mishka, the sea otter who was 6-months-old when she moved from the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward to Seattle Aquarium? She tucks food into the mouthpiece of the inhaler, so that the otter will open her mouth and breathe in. Sea otters went extinct in Washington and 40 years ago, Alaskan sea otters were brought south and reintroduced to the coast.

One-year-old Mishka is the first sea otter to have asthma, the aquarium has said, and is receiving the same medication given to humans.

“We want to make this as fun as possible”, Lahner says.

Vets built a specially-made inhaler for Mishka and are in the process of teaching her how to use it.

The otter’s trainers are using treats to show the 1-year-old how to poke her snout into an inhaler just like humans with asthma do.

Many died shortly afterward, so the current population is estimated to have descended from a few as 10 otters.

“Any time that happens and reduces the genetic diversity of a species, that can affect their immune system, ability to fight off diseases or deal with environmental contaminants”, Lahner said.

Veternarians have prescribed Mishka with the same kind of asthma medication also given to people.

And she’s hardly the only one whose lungs are suffering. But anecdotally, things don’t look good. “We see a whole bunch of people get exacerbated and getting hospitalized, no matter what we do”. One University of Washington professor told King 5 that cases like Mishka’s show the direct line of connection between human and animals and how our health problems often mirror each other when being affected by pollution and other environmental issues.