Protecting Sea Otters Starts Long Before the Spill
From the moment a wild animal becomes oiled, the response becomes a race against time. The animal’s best chance at survival depends on highly trained expert responders working from practiced and proven protocols to rescue and rehabilitate it. The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) brings together world class subject matter experts from across California to ensure animals affected by oil receive the best achievable care, while also maintaining safety and efficiency.
That’s why the OWCN has once again teamed up with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR) to further optimize our sea otter wash protocols through a crucial drill designed to strengthen readiness long before the next spill occurs.
Why train when there isn’t an active oil spill?
Sea otters are one of the most challenging species to care for following oil exposure. Their thick fur is the densest of any mammal, which is also what keeps them warm in cold coastal waters. When oil compromises that fur, an otter can quickly lose its ability to regulate body temperature, setting off a cascade of health risks that can quickly result in severe illness or death if not treated.
Washing an oiled sea otter is thankfully not something responders do every day, but something we must be prepared to do during a response. It’s a rare, high-stakes process that requires teamwork, precision, and careful coordination. Otters must be safely anesthetized during washing, closely monitored, and handled in ways that protect both the animal and the people providing care.
Drills like these exist so that when the real thing happens, responders aren’t learning under pressure; instead they are relying on muscle memory and the shared protocols our Network experts have developed and refined over decades of experience.
Learning, improving, and refining
This exercise builds directly on lessons learned from a previous sea otter washing drill, which was the first of its kind in many years. That earlier training helped the team identify areas for improvement, particularly reducing the rinsing and washing time to reduce the anesthesia time. Why does that matter? Because less time under anesthesia means lower risk and better outcomes for the furry patient.
During this drill, the team applied crude oil to otter carcasses and practiced washing them during multiple trials to maximize product removal while minimizing time. Rather than applying and massaging in soapy water manually to remove the oil, they tested a purpose-built tool designed by UC Davis Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering students (learn about its origins in one of our past blog posts) that includes a pump and nozzle to apply pressurized soapy water. The “Super Soaper” proved very effective at removing a lot of the oil in just a few minutes.
Next, the rest of the oil was removed by washing the otter carcasses (submerged from the neck down) in tubs of soapy water. This technique is regularly used to wash birds and other species, but hasn’t previously been used for otters. For rinsing, the otters received a quick dip in a tub of clean water, which removed a lot of the soap, followed by traditional rinsing with pressurized water. This time, during the rinsing, the otters were positioned at a slight angle to allow gravity to help facilitate soap removal. The outcome of this drill was a reduction in washing and rinse (and thus anesthesia) time of about 1 hour per animal and improved oil removal. However, the team identified additional areas for improvement, including cleaning the head - not an easy task on an intubated animal.
The next drill will include a larger group of veterinarians to 1) help develop strategies for cleaning the head while protecting the airway and 2) review the new tools and methods tested during this drill to ensure they are safe for live otters.
Expertise, shared across the network
One of the strengths of the OWCN is the depth and diversity of expertise it brings together.
This drill included not only OWCN’s UC Davis staff and CDFW-OSPR personnel, but also sea otter care specialists from the OWCN Member Organizations Monterey Bay Aquarium, Aquarium of the Pacific, and University of California, Santa Cruz. By combining extensive animal washing experience with species-specific knowledge, the team was able to take a thoughtful, well-rounded approach to improving our protocols.
Participants represented many roles, from veterinary and rehabilitation staff to planners, safety officers, and logistics specialists. Each perspective plays a role in making sure a response is not only effective, but safe and sustainable.
Preparedness is an ongoing commitment
Exercises like this one require significant planning, coordination, and resources. They don’t always make headlines, but they are essential to what the Network exists to do.
When a spill affects sea otters, the public sees the outcome — animals receiving care and, whenever possible, returning to the wild. Behind those moments is years of preparation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
This drill is one example of that work in action. It reflects a shared commitment to protecting responders, advancing best practices, and giving sea otters the best possible chance at recovery when they need it most.
