14 DAY TRIAL // On June 24, an otter living at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Washington State passed away of natural causes.
Its death would have gone unnoticed if it were not for the fact that Homer was a survivor of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
What's more, it outlived all the other animals that were rescued by conservationists after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker had run aground and released about 10 million gallons of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound.
“It's pretty monumental that she's the last Exxon Valdez oil spill survivor in U.S. zoos and aquariums. She was an amazing animal. She taught a lot of people about conservation,” veterinarian Karen Wolf says.
Tree Hugger reports that, in the aftermath of this oil spill, over 2,800 sea otters were found dead. The oil spill also killed hundreds of eagles, seals and many other marine animals.