VANCOUVER - A sea otter rescued from the Exxon-Valdez oil spill off Alaska in 1989 and who became a YouTube star last year has died at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The aquarium says Nyac was 20, an elderly age for an otter. She was one of eight otters rescued and taken to Vancouver after the giant oil tanker ran aground, spilling 40 million litres of oil.
Aquarium officials say Nyac was diagnosed with leukemia last week and her condition worsened until she died Tuesday.
Nyac became an Internet darling last year after a visitor to the aquarium took a video of her floating on her back and holding paws with her companion otter, Milo.
The video was posted on YouTube and has been seen by over 11 million viewers.
The aquarium says Nyac helped millions of visitors to learn about conservation, rehabilitating injured aquatic mammals, and how to sustain the marine environment.
