Otter Pup Nap Pan

“Otter Pup”

“…A quarter of a century after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound decimated sea otter populations by an estimated 3,000 (about 45%), otter numbers have now grown back to pre-spill levels. Throughout the icy waters of College Fjord, otter populations are deemed healthy and many mature adults experience successful pupping. This delicate scene, witnessed during Alaska’s long mid-summer days, is the perfect example of the sea otter mom and pup interaction. Sea otters do not have a fat layer to stay warm. But they do have the densest insulation layer of fur of any animal on earth, with a stunning 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch. Here the young pup curls up for a nap as it rides aloft its floating mother above the frigid sea water, for safety and conserving warmth for both. Sea otter pups are the personification of our fragile ecosystem…”

The Alaska Collection ™