Orphaned newborn otter rescued after deadly orca attack: "The pup started crying out for its mother"

Wildlife responders in Alaska were confronted with an "unusually dramatic" rescue situation after an orphaned, newborn sea otter was saved after an orca attack.

The Sept. 9 attack was witnessed by Natalie Hunter, a laboratory technician and wildlife response team member at the Alaska SeaLife Center, the center said in a news release. Because Hunter saw the incident while on a recreational fishing trip, responders were aware of the full details, which the group said was "unique." Some of the attack was even filmed by Hunter's group, and the agency shared the video online. 

Hunter's group, which included friends with wildlife response experience, first spotted two wild orcas, and then a "commotion" occurred when the orcas attacked a floating otter. The otter did not try to escape, and the group heard "characteristic young otter calls" that made them realize the otter was carrying a pup. "Multiple" attacks from the orcas targeted the otters, and Hunter's group saw "both the mother otter and the pup burst out of the water after an impressive tail slap from one of the orcas." The two otters were separated, and the orcas turned their attention to the mother. The attacks continued, and "eventually, the mother did not resurface."