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Seattle Aquarium Trains Otter To Use Inhaler For Asthma

KNKX Public Radio | By The Associated Press
Published September 17, 2015 at 10:22 AM PDT
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People at the Seattle Aquarium watch as sea otter swim in the museum's otter exhibit.
Ted S. Warren / The Associated Press
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Mischka was trained to use the inhaler after she was exposed to smoke from Seattle-area wildfires.
The Seattle Aquarium

The Seattle Aquarium has diagnosed a sea otter with asthma and is training the animal to use an inhaler. KING-TV reports Dr. LesannaLahner diagnosed the otter, named Mishka, after she was having trouble breathing when smoke from wildfires was in the Seattle area.

 
Mishka's trainer uses food to teach the 1-year-old to push her nose on the inhaler and take a deep breath. The medication in the otter's inhaler is exactly the same as what humans use.

 
Lahner says reduced genetic diversity could have contributed to Mishka's diagnosis. Sea otters went extinct in Washington and 40 years ago, Alaskan sea otters were brought south and reintroduced to the coast.
 
Science
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (“AP”) is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from the AP. Founded in 1846, the AP today is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering. The AP considers itself to be the backbone of the world’s information system, serving thousands of daily newspaper, radio, television, and online customers with coverage in text, photos, graphics, audio and video.
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