Kai, the Sacramento Zoo's North American river otter, dies at age 9
SACRAMENTO – A longtime resident of the Sacramento Zoo has died, officials announced Tuesday.
Kai the North American river otter had lived at the zoo since 2017.
Early Monday morning, zookeepers found Kai unresponsive in her habitat and she died. Kai was nine years old.
"Kai was known for being a sassy, opinionated otter who knew exactly what she did and didn't want in every situation," said lead carnivore keeper Anela in a statement on Kai's death.
River otters, on average,
live to the age of 12
in the wild but can live past 20 in captivity.
Zookeepers say a full necropsy will be done on Kai to determine how she died.
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Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Who's Looking Out for the Seafarers?
As Nathan Smith reached the deck of the freighter Sakizaya Youth, a bulk carrier as long as two football fields, two crew members came to greet him. The ship was docked at the Alliance Grain Terminal in Vancouver, and the crew — 'seafarers' in the language of shipping — would soon be on their way to the next port in Panama. They are part of a global workforce keeping some 50,000 freighters — and the goods they carry — going from port to port. Life at sea offers steady employment and, for workers from many countries, above-average wages. But it also brings the risk of exploitation and abuse. Seafarers are far from home, dependent on the shipping company and often unaware of their few legal protections. That's why Smith was climbing onto the Sakizaya Youth. 'We're just here to talk about a few things, make sure everything's in line,' Smith told waiting ship's officers. 'We're here for you. We're not here to cause any trouble; we just want to find out if everything's OK.' Smith worked on tugboats in Canada for more than a decade before becoming an inspector for the International Transport Workers' Federation, or ITF, in 2018. On this surprise visit he brought seven others — inspectors from the United States, union officials and longshore workers. Smith is British Columbia's sole inspector for the federation and is used to visiting ships alone. The group visit was part of a plan to reach out to longshore workers and raise their awareness of the world of seafarers. 'I just want to open up their eyes to what's going on, so they can also keep an eye out for seafarers when they see problems,' he said. The ITF is a global federation of about 700 trade unions, representing about 20 million transport workers across the world. International organizations including the United Nations and the World Economic Forum recognize the federation as a representative and advocate for seafarers. The April 25 inspection of the Sakizaya Youth marked the start of the ITF's first North American week of action to raise awareness about the working conditions of seafarers. Smith said the industry is rife with systemic exploitation, violence and extreme working conditions. Workers go where the ships take them and have little control over when they return home to their families. 'These are among the most exploited workers in the world and Canada is not helping,' he said. That Friday morning, Smith and eight others gathered at the Maritime Labour Centre in East Vancouver. In attendance were ITF inspectors Ryan Brazeau and Sam Levens from the U.S. west coast, plus members and officials of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton spoke to the group. 'You all know the severity of the conditions of these workers. As we go onto these vessels, remember that you have their lives in your hands,' Ashton said. 'I'd say you're doing God's work today, but I'm not religious. Instead, I'll say you're doing the good work of the labour movement.' First, the group would head to the Flying Angel Mission to Seafarers at the Port of Vancouver hoping to catch up with some seafarers. Then they planned to conduct a surprise inspection of the three ships docked at Vancouver grain terminals. The International Transport Workers' Federation has agreements with many employers of unionized workers giving representatives authority to board and inspect ships. By industry estimates, the ITF represents more than half of all seafarers. By the federation's own estimate, it represents approximately one million seafarers. The International Chamber of Shipping, a shipowners association, in turn estimates approximately 1.9 million people serve on international merchant ships. Seafarers play a critical role globally and in Vancouver's economy. According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the port receives about 3,000 ships each year, enabling $300 billion worth of trade with 170 different countries. On board these ships, seafarers are responsible for a wide range of duties including navigation, ship maintenance, cooking and handling cargo. But the job can be risky. At the group's morning gathering, the inspectors and union members swapped stories about problems. ILWU Local 400 president Jason Woods pulled out a black and white picture from 1976 of then-ITF inspector Tom McGrath surrounded by mouldy potatoes in a ship's kitchen. Smith said bad food is still an issue. Food is expensive in Canadian ports, he said. 'Because the company gives crews a budget, they prefer to hold off until they go to places where they have cheaper food,' he said. 'There's always problems with rotting food, rotting vegetables and not enough food.' And then there are visa issues. Seafarers don't need a visa from Canada if they're passing through the port, or even visiting the city during their brief time here. But for workers nearing the end of their contracts — or any seafarer hoping to go home — visas and travel approvals can become critical. They don't need a work permit to leave Canada, but the worker who arrives to replace them might. Smith said that earlier this year, a cook from the Philippines learned his wife was suffering from a terminal illness. But his path to flying home was complicated. The shipowner wanted someone to take over his responsibilities as cook before buying him a ticket home. Emails between the ITF, the employer and a seafarer charity obtained by The Tyee corroborate the story. In April, the cook reached out to the Mission to Seafarers, a charity, for help. According to a chaplain at the mission, the cook's wife was terminally ill with days left to live. The cook wasn't sure he could go home until the ship could bring in another cook to replace him — a process that can often take more than a week while the replacement worker waits for a visa. The chaplain reached out to the ITF for help getting the cook home. The next day, the company agreed to fly the cook back and another seafarer stepped up to take over the cook's duties until it reached the next port. 'Canadian visa restrictions make arrangements on short notice impossible,' the ship manager said in an email to the Smith. 'We are presently in progress to arrange... to sail without a cook to next port, where a reliever can join.' It's a common issue in Canada, according to Smith. If a seafarer's contract is up and they need to head home from Canada, their ship needs replacement workers — called relievers — to take over their roles. But instead of getting visas for relievers to fly into Canada, shipowners will often pressure fatigued seafarers into staying on board past the length of their contract. In an email to The Tyee, Mary Rose Sabater, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, said relievers aren't required to get a Canadian work permit — a document separate from a visa that grants foreign nationals the right to work in Canada — but it's recommended they apply for a temporary resident visa. She said seafarers do need to have a valid passport and paperwork proving they have a contract to work on an international vessel. However, IRCC says on its website that foreign workers may need a visa or special travel documents to enter Canada before joining a vessel as a crew member, depending on their country of origin. Sabater added the department recommends seafarers apply for temporary resident visas anyway, 'to avoid any delays or complications upon arrival.' 'IRCC recommends that seafarers submit their applications a minimum of four weeks in advance of their planned travel, where possible,' Sabater said. IRCC says on its website it takes 27 days to process visas for relievers from the Philippines, 19 days for workers from India and 24 days for workers from China. Smith said it often takes longer in practice. He said it usually takes workers from India three months to get the paperwork they need to come relieve workers, and workers from the Philippines one month. Smith said most companies try to plan ahead to relieve crews. But some ships press workers to stay on board until they can reach another port. Transport Canada and the ITF check some seafarers' contracts to see if they have already expired, but Smith said shipowners would rather gamble on having an inspector catch them keeping seafarers on board past their tenures during a random inspection than go through the visa process. 'Seafarers cry out to us, saying that they want to go home, that they feel like a prisoner on board,' Smith said. At sea, shipowners and captains have near-absolute control over sailors' lives. Seafarers' working environment is predominantly male, physically tough and isolated. The conditions often breed violence and exploitation, and sailors frequently struggle with mental health and suicide, said Brazeau with the International Transport Workers' Federation. A study published last year in the journal International Maritime Health surveyed 788 seafarers in France and found about 66 per cent of female respondents and 38 per cent of male respondents said they had been sexually harassed while at sea. One-fifth said they had been victims of sexual harassment in the past 12 months. Then there's the risk of abandonment, when companies end the employment of seafarers in a foreign port without providing any way for them to get home. And often without paying the wages owed. While abandonment is sometimes because of a bad-faith employer, it often happens when a shipowner goes out of business or becomes insolvent, according to the ITF. The International Labour Organization and the International Maritime Organization run a database tracking cases of abandonment worldwide — the vast majority of which were reported by the ITF. Once workers are abandoned at foreign ports, it's up to workers' groups, port authorities and state governments to bring them home. So far this year, the online database lists 70 cases of abandonment — 37 of which are still unresolved. Last year, there were 308 cases of abandonment, with 54 cases being unresolved. That's a sharp rise from fewer than 20 cases per year between 2011 to 2016. The last case of abandonment at a Canadian port was reported in 2014, when 12 crew members were stranded when the ship's owner suddenly stopped contacting crew. The case was resolved when the City of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, held a fundraiser to send the seafarers home to Turkey and an airline donated the tickets they needed. The ITF's Smith said many cases never get reported because seafarers' workplaces are isolated and precarious and their access to labour law and complaint processes is limited. Transport Canada spokesperson Sau Sau Liu said in an email that Canada is a signatory to the Maritime Labour Convention, which sets out the labour standards for seafarers. Lui added the department inspects vessels arriving from international ports based on complaints, risks or vessel profiles to ensure they comply with the convention. 'If non-compliances are observed, the inspector can order the detention of the vessel until the matter is resolved,' Liu said. Back in Vancouver, Smith and the other campaigners headed to their first stop, the Mission to Seafarers at the Vancouver port. The mission has been offering services to seafarers visiting Vancouver since 1973. Its blue wood heritage building was built in 1905 as a showpiece for BC Mills Timber and Trading Co. and has been used as the headquarters for the Vancouver Harbour Commissioners and the National Harbours Board. Now it's home to a tuxedo cat named Archie, with a foyer that features a makeshift shop offering low-priced snacks, drinks and warm clothes for seafarers passing through Vancouver. There are tables, chairs and couches where they can relax, although most show up just looking for a place to nap, said senior port chaplain Peter Smyth. The inspectors and union members arrived with stacks of pizza and pamphlets about mental health, hoping to connect with ship workers. But the seafarers who do come to the mission decide they would rather use the time to explore the city. One sports a blue 'Vancouver' hoodie, a souvenir of his first visit to the city. The Tyee agreed to protect his identity because he feared retribution from his employer. Last year, the sailor, who is from the Philippines, worked on a small cargo ship that only travelled the Baltic Sea. In March, he signed on for a nine-month contract on a container ship operating on the Pacific Ocean. He says he's looking forward to returning home to his family by Christmas. 'Since this is my first container ship, it's a little bit more of an adjustment,' he said. 'But I can adapt to any kind of work.' Work at sea can be challenging, he said. 'If we encounter some bad weather, it's very difficult to work because you feel dizzy, you feel like vomiting,' he said. 'It's good to work on a big vessel like this. You get less seasick.' The sailor said he previously worked at an airport in the Philippines. But working at sea paid better. 'I can earn some big money — more than working on land,' he said. Last month in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Labour Organization — a United Nations agency that establishes international employment standards — set the 2026 global minimum wage for seafarers at US$690 per month — approximately C$954. That's more than double the minimum wage in the Philippines. And it's a solidly middle-class salary, by international standards. According to the International Labour Organization's global wage report, the median wage of lower-middle-class workers internationally was US$448 per month in 2021. But money isn't the only reason people are attracted to the work, said Helio Vicente, director of employment affairs at the International Chamber of Shipping. 'It's exciting,' he said. 'If you want to explore the world, that is one of the big attractions of seafaring.' The chamber is a trade association representing more than 80 per cent of the shipowners and employers that make up the world merchant fleet. Vicente said the International Chamber of Shipping has 'worked incredibly hard' with the International Transport Workers' Federation to address some of the systemic issues facing seafarers. Visas for relievers are a priority, according to Vicente. He said the employer association participated in discussions about how to improve visa processes at the annual International Labour Organization meeting in April and it will be a topic of discussion next year. 'What we want to do ahead of that meeting is really take stock about how we can help... and find ways to address the need for seafarers to be moving around in a way that's much freer,' he said. He added the association is working to reduce abandonment cases alongside the International Labour Organization, which established a task force to address the issue in April 2024. 'Abandonment is a complete scourge on us as an industry and it gives everybody a bad reputation,' Vicente said. 'We are meant to look after our workforce.' He said the task force's first priority is to organize data on abandonment, so trends can be identified and addressed. Vicente added that to ensure instances of violence and harassment on ships can be addressed, the employer association participated in conversations last year about ways to make it easier for employees to report misconduct. He said the reporting framework is evolving and he hopes it creates reliable channels for sailors to report breaches of their rights. 'We're doing absolutely everything we can to address the issue,' he said. 'The ability for seafarers to report in the comfort and knowledge that they will not be retaliated against is important.' Tiny particles of grain dust blew off the Sakizaya Youth into a westerly wind as the labour campaigners walked on board. The bulk carrier ship was docked in Vancouver for a few days to fill with grain before starting the two-week trip to Panama. The vessel was owned by Wisdom Marine Group, a Taiwanese shipping company that did not respond to The Tyee's requests for comment. It flew a Panamanian flag and had a crew of 21 workers of Chinese nationality. Smith explained to the captain — the only crew member in plain clothes — that he was with the International Transport Workers' Federation and planned to do an inspection. The first priority was to check the provisions locker where the ship stored its food. An officer in blue coveralls led the way downstairs to the provisions locker. The ship's storage room for food was kept cold. It was filled with produce that looked fresh and unspoiled, though it had not been restocked since April 7 — more than two weeks prior. 'How long is it going to last for, that's my concern,' said Sam Levens, one of the U.S.-based ITF inspectors. 'This is a lot of fresh stuff.' The cook, who did not offer his name, explained the ship planned to restock provisions when it reached Panama in two weeks. The ship budgeted US$8.50 per crew member per day for provisions — a budget that would go much further at its next port. Back upstairs, Smith pored through a binder of paperwork including collective agreements and time cards. He had noticed the crew's time cards were filled in uniformly, reporting each member had worked exactly 44 hours per week with no overtime. The crew had all been on board for about nine months. According to the captain, the plan was to send the crew home when they arrived in Panama. That was in line with the crew's contracts, which said they would stay on board for nine months — plus or minus one month. The International Labour Organization standard for seafarers is that the maximum period of service on board is 11 months. A couple of hours after arriving, Smith announced the inspection had come to an end. But before he left, the captain asked for a picture. The captain, crew and labour campaigners all headed back to the deck, where they posed for a shot with the black flag of the International Transport Workers' Federation. One crew member held up an ITF pamphlet about managing mental health. The group planned more inspections and crew engagement over the next few days in Surrey and Delta before taking the campaign south of the Canadian border. Smith said he plans to turn the awareness campaign — and the practice of bringing longshore workers along for inspections — into an annual event. He said he hopes that by building connections between seafarers and port workers, he can strengthen seafarers' access to labour rights here in Canada. 'The more we talk to these seafarers, the more we can grow this,' he said. 'Hopefully, seafarers can start to feel more and more comfortable.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. 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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Escaped river otter takes his destiny into his own (tiny) hands
Since March, two escaped North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) have been leading the staff at the New Zoo Adventure Park in northeastern Wisconsin near Green Bay on an otterly wild chase. During a snowstorm on March 20th, security cameras showed otters Louie and Ophelia leaving their enclosures. The zoo staff believe they escaped through a hole in a buried part of the fence that had clearly gone unnoticed. Zookeepers quickly noted their absence, and immediately set the stage for a high-stakes chase scene straight out of an episode of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Per the zoo's updates 'operating procedures for animal escapes were activated,' and they even called in a professional animal tracker. The otters, however, were not very subtle in their escape. They left fresh tracks in the snow, galavanting around the zoo and beyond in full view of cameras. The pair never went very far, which is consistent with normal otter territorial behavior, according to the zoo. 'Both Louie and Ophelia were born in the wild and brought into human care through a process of rehabilitation. North American river otters are native to our area and are very comfortable and capable of surviving in Wisconsin's climate,' the zoo reassured readers. 'The Zoo is surrounded by natural ponds and other waterways which provide ample food and safe places to sleep even at this time of year.' The zoo staff set up traps in locations where the otters were seen more than once, but like any good story, antagonistic foil characters in the form of raccoons quite literally foiled their plans by interfering with the contraptions. One raccoon even set off a trap shortly before one of the otters tried to enter it, forcing the staff to pivot toward 'raccoon proof' traps. Nonetheless, the zoo announced Ophelia's return on April 1 (after clarifying that the announcement was not an April Fool's joke). After two months of Louie evading capture, the zoo concluded that he had taken his destiny into his own hands. 'Due to the length of time that Louie has been missing, we believe he has made the decision to be a wild otter,' the zoo wrote in its latest animal update. 'We accept this, although we would, of course, welcome him home if he decides to return.' [ Related: Female sea otters use tools more than males. ] The zoo staff explained that, given the reports of his sightings, they believe he is 'healthy and surviving well.' The only thing left to do now is find another male otter to keep Ophelia company.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Scrub Hub: IU's new bison mascot links back to a forgotten piece of Indiana history
After decades with no furry beast repping its athletic department, Indiana University recently adopted an official mascot. Once again, it's a bison. The two-thousand-pound animals used to roam the Indiana landscape en masse, packing down the earth beneath their feet and creating paths as they shuffled along. Indiana University referenced perhaps the most famous of these trails — the Buffalo Trace — in their Star-Wars-style announcement video last month. But after almost 200 years without a bison in sight, it can be hard to imagine how they could have permanently altered the Indiana landscape. So, this edition of Scrub Hub, we spoke with Clark County Surveyor David Ruckman and Director of the Buffalo Trace Land Trust Elizabeth Winlock to help us answer the questions: What is the Buffalo Trace in Southern Indiana, and why is it so ingrained in our state's history? Upwards of 60 million bison used to plod across the North American landscape. The enormous, horned beasts were integral to prairie ecosystems: they fed on grasses and sedges, helped create water sources and fed the people living nearby. They were often on the move. Large herds of hungry buffalo traversed Indiana, constantly sniffing out their next meal. Bison huffed up upland ridges to graze during the warm months and when the temperatures dropped, they trotted back down into large river valleys toward insulated forests. As they crossed the state, their path was likely directed by where they could find salt licks and water sources. Over the years — and underneath thousands of hoofprints — paths formed across the southern Indiana landscape. The largest came to be known as the Buffalo Trace. Indigenous groups, like the Miami Tribe, were likely the first people to move across the region on these trails. But as Europeans began to colonize North America, more humans found the trace, and soon, it became a bustling trail from Louisville to Vincennes. After President Thomas Jefferson bought 530 million acres through the Louisiana Purchase, he focused on the Buffalo Trace as a way to access it. 'Jefferson immediately saw that and said, 'Hey, we've got to control this buffalo road, whatever it is, because that's our way west,'' said David Ruckman, a surveyor for Clark County, who helped re-plot the trail as part of the Hoosier National Forest Service's effort to preserve state history. But the trail didn't stay a buffalo road for long. As European immigrants settled in North America and pioneers traveled west, they killed tens of millions of bison. The slaughter coincided with the young nation's plans to eradicate, assimilate, and relocate local Indigenous tribes, many of which relied on the creatures as a food source. By 1830, the last wild Indiana bison was killed. The Buffalo Trace became a very different place: pioneers, wagons and horses — but no more buffalo — crossed the trail, heading west. Settlements and farms cropped up alongside of it. And due to the sheer amount of traffic, pieces of the trace quickly became unrecognizable. 'It was just a dusty path, right? A hard-packed path,' said Ruckman. But as wagons began traveling over wet dirt, ruts began to form. 'And those ruts just kept going deeper and deeper. Some places they're eight and ten feet deep.' The trace has continued to evolve. Today, some sections are smothered in concrete or asphalt, underneath county highways. Other chunks pass through rural farmland, alongside high schools and down the main streets of small towns. But the remnants of the trail still connect communities across southern Indiana. 'We kind of take for granted just how special some of this is,' said Elizabeth Winlock, the Director for the Buffalo Trace Land Trust in southern Indiana. It's not the flashiest natural landscape or a bustling metropolis, she added, but she thinks the long history of buffalo, Indigenous people and settlers using the trail as a trading and migration route is worth paying attention to. 'Just being able to slow down for a second think about the land that you're on and the other animals and other people that came before you,' said Winlock. "I think all of that is valuable.' IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Sophie Hartley is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach her at or on X at @sophienhartley. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Scrub Hub: IU's new bison mascot points to forgotten Hoosier history
