An asthmatic sea otter has been learning how to use an inhaler after becoming the first of its kind to be diagnosed with the disease.
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When smoke from the wildfires blanketed the western half of the state, poor Mishka – like many people – was having trouble breathing, according to King 5.
The sea otter inhaler uses exactly the same steroids that are in a normal human one, but getting her to use it isn’t so easy. Aquarium biologist Sara Perry is training Mishka to properly inhale the medication when the apparatus is put on her nose, using food as an incentive.
“We want to make this as fun as possible”, Lahner said.
“These lungs… have more white in them”, she says in the KING-TV video.
Mishka, who has been at the aquarium since January, is reportedly responding well.
Mishka’s species are considered endangered and were hunted for their fur until 1911, when the practice was banned as their numbers plummeted to just 1,000.
But she can also serve as a barometer of sorts for our own environmental health. Sea otters went extinct in Washington and 40 years ago, Alaskan sea otters were brought south and reintroduced to the coast. Though only about a year old, she’ll likely need the inhaler for the rest of her life.
Many died shortly afterward, so the current population is estimated to have descended from a few as 10 otters. USA Today is reporting that Peter Rabinowitz, a professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health says that while it may seem novel that a sea otter can have asthma, Mishka’s illness has a connection to human health.
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Lahner told KIRO 7 News that Mishka’s asthma serves as a reminder that animals can’t get away from poor air qualiy, and that it’s important for humans to keep the environment clean.
