Death of a Sea Otter Fetus in the Late Stage of Pregnancy

Abstract

In the estimated 189th day of pregnancy, bleeding from the vagina of a sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was observed. From the previous day, she had stopped eating fish. According to the result of an X-ray test and her behavior, the fetus was suspected to have been dead. Oxytocin and PGF_<2a> were administered respectively. The doses for oxytocin were 5, 10 and 20 units, and lOmg for PGF_<2a>. Vomiting and hyperventilation were observed after PGF_<2a> was administered. However, a miscarriage did not occur. A caesarean section was carried out, but the fetus had already died (total length 51.6cm; weight 1 93kg) The mother also died without recovering from isoflurane anesthesia(5% for induction and 2-4% for maintained).