The coast around Seldovia, Alaska, is wild, wooded and rocky. Mountain slopes reach right down to the edge of the sea. Giant Douglas fir trees are so tall they seem like they are trying to poke holes in the sky. Seastacks, or small islands of solid rock, dot the coast.
It is a good place to see wildlife, such as eagles, bears, cougars, seals, sea-lions, orcas, gray whales, humpback whales and also long whiskered otters, in their natural habitat. You don’t have to shove off in a boat to see the denizens of the deep. Often people see them right from the beach.
A man and his wife were out for a walk on the beach when they heard crying that sounded like an animal in distress. Listening to the piteous crying, they thought it sounded like a baby even before they saw it. The crying sounded like the animal was calling for help. They looked around for the source of the cry and saw a little brown ball of fur several yards off shore on some rocks that stuck out of the surf.
“Eeeouh, eeeouh,” the baby cried in a high-pitched voice, over and over again.
They guessed very quickly that the little otter was calling for its momma. Sea otter pups, like a lot of mammals, are utterly dependent on their mothers when they are very young. Their mothers feed them, teach them how to hunt and forage for food, and sea otter mothers are always grooming the coats of their pups.
The couple decided to sit and watch from a distance to see what might happen to the baby. After half an hour and no mother otter showing up, they figured some mishap had happened to her, and the baby was alone. It would only be a matter of time before the baby would die if something wasn’t done about it.
Sea otters were once plentiful up and down the Northwest Pacific Coast, but they were hunted to near extinction because of their luxuriant fur. Laws in Alaska prohibit capturing baby sea mammals. Before they tried to capture it, they would have to notify wildlife authorities and get permission.
A Call for Help
They called on their cell phone and explained carefully what was going on. The ranger in charge understood the baby’s danger immediately. He said he would send out a volunteer from the Alaska Sealife Center at once.
Before long a man with a long net and hip waders came to the scene. Slowly, he walked out to the baby otter. The otter was either too tired or too scared to move. In a second, he had the net over it. It weighed no more than 8 to 10 pounds. He let the couple look at it for a few minutes before taking it in his car to the rescue center.
At the rescue center they could give it emergency care. But the center was not set up to give the otter a lasting home. The baby otter would need almost full-time care from a human if it was going to survive. The rescue center didn’t give the baby otter a name. They gave it a number, EL2306. They didn’t want to get too attached to the little thing when they knew he would have to leave them for another home.
That baby cried and cried because it wanted its mother, but unknown to the baby the mother had died. Her body washed up on the shore of the beach a few days later.
Needy Creatures
Do you know that we are all needy creatures, unable to take care of ourselves and unable to protect ourselves from our enemies? We should be very thankful for parents, families, friends, and all other caretakers, but even when they mean the best, they can’t provide for our deepest needs. Each one of us has needs that only God can provide. Only He can provide for our deepest needs, which are the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me” (Psalm 120:11<<A Song of degrees.>> In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. (Psalm 120:1)). We need God’s grace to meet our deepest needs.
The baby otter cried out, and the mother wasn’t able to help it. God will never fail to hear the cry of a sinner who is sorry for their sins. He is always ready to hear those who cry out to Him in faith. Jesus will hold very near His heart those who believe in Him, and they will never perish. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).
God looks after all the creatures He has made and has given them different gifts to help them survive. He has given special gifts to human beings too. We can call on God for salvation. God wants each one of us to believe in Christ and come to understand His great love. Those who do so will never perish but receive the gift of eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
Adoption
The volunteers at the Alaska Sealife Center genuinely loved animals, and EL2306 was about as cute as an animal could get. Volunteers cleaned his fur with a towel and fed the pup out of a bottle of specially prepared formula. Every 15 minutes a volunteer would hand-feed the baby a piece of clam meat. He was always hungry. They had a small pool he could learn to swim in and even a blue and green toy that looked like strands of sea kelp.
But the state of Alaska has a law forbidding the release of sea mammals back into the wilds once they have been rescued. They had no choice but to put sea otter pup EL2306 up for adoption. They put the word out to the zoos and aquariums in North America that they had a young, healthy, beautiful otter pup that needed a permanent home.
Adopted by God
Do you know we all need to be adopted by faith into God’s family? It’s true!
When a sinner believes in the Lord Jesus, God forgives their sins. After they believe, the Holy Spirit comes to live in their hearts by faith. The Holy Spirit pours the love of God into their hearts. This love makes them know they are one of God’s children. “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:2626For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)). The Holy Spirit also makes them know that God is their “Dear Father.” “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father,” reads a verse in the Bible (Galatians 4:66And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)). “Abba Father” is another way of saying “Dear Father.”
As their loving Father, God will see to it that all their needs are met both in this life and the life to come. He will bring them home to heaven to spend eternity with Him. This earth is only our temporary home. Our forever home is in heaven. What joys will belong to His children in heaven! They will be surrounded by other saints and angels and forever rejoice in the God who loves them.
The little sea otter pup, EL2306, cried out in his need. He was rescued and then adopted and found a home for the rest of his life. Will you cry out to God and ask Him to save you? Then you will be part of His family forever. You will never be sorry you did!