A group of fishermen witness an orca attack, leaving a baby otter orphaned

An orphaned sea otter was rescued by a group of fishermen after its mother was attacked by a pod of orcas in Alaska.

On September 9, Natalie Hunter and some of her friends were on a recreational fishing trip in Homer, Alaska, when they spotted two wild orcas in the water.

The group turned off the engine of their boat to observe the animals from a distance.

Nearby was a floating otter carrying her calf on her belly when a sudden commotion beneath the mother otter occurred, according to a news release from the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC).

Hunter, who happens to be a lab technician and member of the Wildlife Response Team at ASLC, watched the distressing attack unfold as one of the orcas performed “an impressive tail flick” , throwing the baby and mother otter out of the water.

The Alaska SeaLife Center Wildlife Response Program admitted a newborn otter pup from Homer, Alaska on September 9, 2023. The ASLC team cares for the pup 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and offers him meals every two hours. (Kaiti Grant | Alaska SeaLife Center)

Once separated, the orcas focused their attention on the mother and she never resurfaced.

The baby otter’s cries could be heard by Hunter and his friends. Once they saw the orcas leaving the area, they quickly called the ASLC Wildlife Response hotline for advice.

“It was weird being on the other side of the wildlife hotline. It wasn’t someone calling me to report an animal in need. It was the other way around “Hunter said. “My brain was in wildlife response mode during the entire incident, thinking that we might unfortunately have a baby otter to save on our hands. It wasn’t until the end of the event that the wild orcas left area and the puppy started screaming for his mother, I knew we had to think about the next step.”

Hunter wasn’t the only person on the boat with experience dealing with wildlife. Her friends who were on the fishing trip with her were two former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service volunteers, an ASLC intern and a current veterinary technician from the Georgia Aquarium.

Once the green light was given, the group took the puppy aboard their boat.

A newborn otter from Homer, Alaska, sleeps after a feeding session September 10, 2023. The newborn otter is receiving around-the-clock care from the Alaska SeaLife Center team. (Kaiti Grant | Alaska SeaLife Center)

“Her cries were gurgles and when we got her out of the water she was soaking wet,” Hunter recalled. “Her coat wasn’t repelling water and keeping her buoyant like it should have been.”

After bringing the puppy to the ASLC, it was quickly noted that he was no more than a day old and had evidence of a fresh umbilical cord.

ASLC lab technician and Wildlife Response Team member Natalie Hunter bottle-feeds a newborn otter patient on September 13, 2023. Hunter witnessed the attack of an orca in Homer, Alaska, who orphaned the puppy. (Kaiti Grant | Alaska SeaLife Center)

Besides being tired and hungry, the puppy was in good health, ASLC said.

“Very rarely do we know how a wildlife response patient arrived on scene and what condition they were found in. For most reported cases of an abandoned seal or otter pup, we ask the reporter to observe for a period of time if the mother In this rare case, we know exactly what happened to this newborn,” said ASLC Wildlife Response curator Jane Belovarac.

This is the second orphan baby otter admitted to the ASLC in less than a week. Both patients are cared for 24/7 by the team.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.