The oldest sea otter in Europe and one of the oldest in the world, “Maré”, has died, announced the Lisbon Oceanarium this Tuesday. The daughter of the iconic otters “Amália” and “Eusébio” was 23 years old and died due to her advanced age.
The Oceanário says, in a statement, that Maré was the first sea otter to be born in European institutions, “exactly 20 days before the opening of Expo98 and in the final phase of preparations for the opening of the Pavilion of the Oceans (the current Oceanarium).
“It was not in the plans of the then young Oceanário team to open its doors to the thousands of visitors to the Pavilhão dos Oceanos, having a sea otter with a few days of life and in need of extraordinary care”, says the institution, explaining that it needed “adapt the route and close the passage through Habitat do Pacífico for a few hours a day so that mother Amália and daughter Maré could have the necessary moments of rest”.
On May 2, Maré turned 23 years old, a senior, since the average life expectancy of a female sea otter is around 15 years in the wild, explains the Oceanário.
“From his advanced age we knew he was in a delicate period of health. Maré had already surpassed the average life expectancy of a sea otter, being the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the world”, says Lisbon Oceanarium Curator, Núria Baylina, adding that this “is a moment sad” for the institution, “since this was one of the most emblematic animals, which we saw born and aged, cherished by the entire team and by the general public”.
The otter Maré “represented” Portugal in several European aquariums, in connection with the breeding program, by integrating the Aquarium of the Antwerp Zoo and the Rotterdam Zoo, having returned to the Oceanário in 2010.
Now sister Micas, in her late 20s, will be joined by juvenile males Odi and Kasi, “two sea otters who were rescued by the Alaska Sea Life Center very debilitated, less than a year old”, who were taken in by 2018.
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