In Memory of Our Otter Pup
Posted at 11:27 am August 22, 2008 by Hali Anderson
Kalila
Dear readers,
It is with great sadness that I must inform you our five-month-old Cape clawless otter pup, Kalila, passed away August 18. Unfortunately, the cause of her death is not yet known. As you may recall from my recent blog, Otter Pup Gets a Name , that Kalila and her mom, Sweet Otter, were brought to the hospital to be introduced to the male, Herman. Prior to the introduction, Kalila was scheduled to have a recheck exam to try to determine the cause of her anemia found during her last exam. Her new exam went well and she was placed back with mom without incident.
In fact, she was doing so well that the decision was made to proceed with the introduction to Herman. The hospital staff was well prepared to step in, if necessary, but aside from Sweet Otter being a bit protective over Kalila, the introduction went smoothly. Soon all three otters were swimming, eating, playing, and sleeping together over the next few days.
Sweet Otter and Kalila
We were all prepared to welcome the three otters back to their home in the San Diego Zoo’s Bear Canyon when Kalila took a turn for the worse. On Monday morning, the hospital keeper noticed that she was moving slowly and wasn’t very interested in food. A few hours later she was more lethargic and the veterinarian on duty decided to check her out. Sadly, she passed away right as they were preparing to examine her. Many tests are pending to determine why she died, and as soon as I have some answers I will post another blog.
Sweet Otter
So, on Tuesday, Sweet Otter and Herman did come back to their exhibit where they are now residing. It’s hard to say what kind of loss Sweet Otter may be experiencing. She continues to have a good appetite and seems to have settled back into her exhibit. I’m probably more devastated than she as I had become very attached to little Kalila and was so looking forward to having the three of them in my charge. However, life doesn’t always go as planned, and I am accepting this as the days go by. The good news is that Herman and Sweet Otter are getting along fine and are both healthy.
Thank you to everyone who sent comments to my previous blogs. It’s been a fun and rewarding last five months and I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences watching Kalila grow. She will be sorely missed.
Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Moderator’s note: We were all saddened to learn of Kalila’s passing and appreciate the effort Hali made to share her story with our readers.
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August 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 am
Hali, thank you for letting us know. So many of us were thrilled when little Kalila first came into the exhibit, and we all share your grief at her death. She was a beautiful little girl!
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
i am sorry for your loss.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Hali, to you and your fellow keepers my deepest sympathy. This just breaks my heart to here about this beautiful animal. may she have sweet dreams and she will be welcomed by all who passed before her. The rainbow bridge has welcomed another of our special babies. I just can’t believe this.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
What heartbreaking news, Hali! I finally got to see Kalila and her mom in person back on Aug. 3 and was surprised how big Kalila was compared to Sweet Otter. I’ve enjoyed following Kalila’s development through blogs, pictures and videos. Please keep us posted, Hali.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Dear Hali – Please accept our deepest condolences on the passing of our sweet little Kalila. I know how devastated and heartbroken you are at this time. As I was preparing to shut the computer down, I decided to check on all the blogs. It was an unbelievable shock to read your blog concerning this very sad news. Please know that we all feel the pain of losing beautiful and sweet Kalila. We so enjoyed watching her play with her mom and swim around her pool. She was the cutest baby otter.
We will always remember her interacting with you on Enrichment Day. Kalila and Sweet Otter really put on a great show for all the visitors. We have photos of you with Kalila and Sweet Otter enjoying a fun ” fishing†session. We will never forget Kalila and we will treasure her photos. We were looking forward to visiting the whole otter family this coming week. We hope the vets find out exactly what went wrong so this will never happen again.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I am so sorry. My husband and I were at the zoo last night and were looking for the ” baby” . Unfortunately, that explains it. Take care.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Oh how very sad!
Just a few days ago the blog was such a happy one.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Thank you Hali for sharing the news with us. I am very sorry to learn that Kalila passed away. I hope that Sweet Otter and Herman will have opportunities to breed again in the near future.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I am sorry I was never able to see Kalila, as I live so far away. As always, those of us who so dearly love the sweet and magnificent animals of this world, feel these losses in a personal way. Words cannot express the feelings of loss. Our hearts are with all of you who are so close to these little darlings.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Hali, I am saddened to hear of Kalila’s death. Hopefully the vets will be able to figure out what went wrong and use that knowledge for a future pup from Sweet Otter and Herman. Thankfully the three of them had a few days of fun time together, and Sweet Otter and Herman now have the company of each other once again. How often do Cape clawless otters come into heat?
August 26th, 2008 at 7:14 am
I am also saddened by the loss. Kalila was a special little girl and I enjoyed seeing her swim around–mostly following her mom the day I visited. By accident, I happened onto a book and it’s shedding lots of light into the mysteries of the many animals we share our world with. It’s called ” The Rhino With Glue-On Shoes” edited by Lucy Spelman, DMV. It contains an assortment of beautiful stories of zoo vets and their special patients. Some stories are funny, some are sad. All are incredible accounts of the doctors who have an emotional and professional commitment towards finding answers in an effort to cure unusual ailments, and more. When reading that we have so much yet to discover about all the different animal species, I know that Kalila might offer a window towards learning more about clawless otters. Thank you, Hali, for giving us a personal glimpse of your emotional and professional connection with Kalila and family. You must be a terrific keeper!
August 26th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Hali, I am so sorry to read this . . . Kalila was so adorable and I know she brought you a lot of joy, personally, as well as the joy we all feel about these animals.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
It’s been a while for me, but I was finally able to go through all the animal blogs in one day, and after reading about Kalila and how her new name was chosen, and the funny antics she displayed for you Hali, it was very sad to read a few blogs afterwards, that little Kalila had passed. I’m very sorry for the loss suffered by you, her keeper and the rest of the SDZ staff. I hope they will be able to figure out what Kalila’s ailment was. Thank you for the lovely story preceding, and for the quick update on what had happend.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
How sad! They little sweet pea was cut short of her earthly years!
My condolences to her parents and SDZ!
August 29th, 2008 at 7:30 am
I am so heartbroken to hear about Kalila’s passing! I always looked forward to visiting her and Sweet Otter. She was such a sweet little girl and I loved to watch her play with her mom. Rest in peace, little one! I will treasure my pictures and videos of you, as well as the memories of my visits with you and your mom forever. My deepest sympathy to Hali and the SDZ staff on the loss of our sweet little girl.
September 1st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
so sorry to hear about little Kalia’s early death. hope you can find out why! otters are so much fun to watch. also very funny at times and get into mischief too! I always hate it when an animal dies or suffers.
it doesn’t sound as though the little girl suffered too much as she went so quickly. maybe a blessing in
disguise! hope her mama doesn’t grieve too long. actually, I don’t know if or what animals grieve. only assuming that they do. I know that elephants and gorillas do, as I have seen it on animal planet! anyway
hope the other two otters fair well and maybe make another baby in the future. SORRY!
October 14th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hali, I have only just found this article and I’m heartbroken. My daughter and myself were only at the zoo a month earlier and spent ages watching Kalia and her Mum. They knew when their food was arriving, and waited at the door impatiently! There was often a large crowd watching them. My daughter took lots of photos and videos of them and I feel very very sad that Kalia has gone. Have you found out why she died yet?
Moderator’s note: Hali promises to let us know in her next blog, coming soon.
November 1st, 2008 at 12:21 am
As a volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium, I am very saddened to hear about this news. Sadly, we have experienced loss more than a few times at our aquarium, so I know that losing Kalia was devastating to the staff as well as to Sweet Otter. I found this blog when I got my latest email from the zoo (which I am excitedly going to be visiting during Christmas!), and couldn’t believe that I had never heard of Cape Clawless otters before. I am a sea otter enthusiast and I also love river otters, so it’s nice to be able to learn about a new otter species! I wish I would have been able to see Kalia, but I hope that in the future, the zoo will have success in breeding other babies for Sweet Otter. Please pass on our condolences from myself and my husband for your loss.
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Awwwwww…. I am crying that is so sad I loved that pup