Orphaned otter pup rescued from Pismo Beach has a new home at California aquarium
A baby southern sea otter was recently found orphaned off the coast of Pismo Beach, so officials from the Marine Mammal Center facility in Morro Bay decided to give the youngster a better chance at life.
The Morro Bay officials sent the rescued 14-week-old pup to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, where he’s being raised as part of the facility’s Sea Otter Surrogacy program.
The pup was determined to be unreleasable back into the wild and will become part of the aquarium’s permanent population.
Officials at the aquarium are giving the young otter round-the-clock care, which includes feeding him every one to three hours.
“When he arrived at the Aquarium a few weeks ago, he weighed about 10 pounds. He is eating well and is now up to 16 pounds,” said Brett Long, Aquarium of the Pacific curator of marine mammals and birds.
Visitors to the aquarium can’t see the young Pismo Beach pup quite yet. He’s adjusting to his new life in a behind-the-scenes nursery at the facility’s Molina Animal Care Center.
As part of the Sea Otter Surrogacy program, the youngster has been paired with a resident female to help teach him basic skills.
“The Sea Otter Surrogacy program is the result of a partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which has rescued, rehabilitated, and released stranded sea otter pups since the 1980s,” the aquarium said in a news release Tuesday.
The program has a hands-off approach.
“Staff interaction with the orphaned otters in the surrogacy program will need to be minimal, and staff will need to wear special suits that distort the human form so these pups have a better chance at surviving in the wild,” Long said.
The young otter from Pismo Beach will join the aquarium’s other otters in the main habitat on Dec. 28, where visitors can see him.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 12:53 PM.
