Showing posts tagged as "Sea Otters"
Boy oh Boy! A Sea Otter Pup on Exhibit!
This fuzzy Valentine will certainly steal your heart. Say hello to a young male pup that joined our sea otter exhibit on February 14. At eight weeks old, he’s the youngest pup to date to join the exhibit. His hefty size – 15 pounds – is the result of a very healthy appetite since he came into our care at two weeks of age and weighing barely six pounds.
He was rescued on January 5 in Cayucos (San Luis Obispo County) by staff with the Marine Mammal Center. That same day, they transferred care of the pup into the capable hands of our Sea Otter Research and Conservation program as pup 572, which means he’s the 572nd sea otter to be admitted.
During the pup’s first exam we found a small laceration on his right shoulder, which suggests his mother was bitten by a white shark while this pup was on her chest. If that’s true, he’s the seventh stranded pup to come to us under similar circumstances in the past two years.
Now the pup is under the tutelage of Joy, who will teach him what a young otter needs to know. Joy’s our most experienced surrogate mother, with a brag book of 15 pups (572 is her 16th) – more than any other otter in our program.
Joy has cared for two other pups on exhibit. In 2010 she mentored pup 502 before that pup was transferred to her permanent home at Georgia Aquarium. In 2011 Joy raised pup 540 before she moved to her new home at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Washington.
Joy’s also the only available adult female to raise this pup, as her fellow surrogates and companion animals are busy behind the scenes with their own charges. We’ve received permission from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to prepare 572 for life in the public eye. He’s the fourth pup we’ll raise on exhibit, and the third who will eventually find a new home at another aquarium as an ambassador for wild sea otters.
For now he’ll keep his number and will eventually get a name from his new caretakers. Sea otters are intelligent animals that can understand and respond to many words and commands. Using a name helps greatly with training exercises, and it would confuse and frustrate pup 572 if we gave him one name and his new home another.
Be sure to come see him when you visit or watch him on our live Otter Cam. We’ll also post updates and images on our Facebook page. As in the past, we may move him behind the scenes with little notice if that’s in his best interests, so be sure to check if you’re planning a special trip.
How do our sea otters celebrate the holidays? We brought a little of the North Pole to them! Learn more
Otters are cute, furry and among the most charismatic creatures in the wild. They’re also in the spotlight as we celebrate Otter Days on Saturday and Sunday, September 24-25.
Rescued sea otter pup 540 now weighs almost 14 pounds!
As you can see, surrogate mother Joy and rescued sea otter pup 540 continue to do well on exhibit! The little pup washed up on a Cayucos beach in California on April 28.When she went on exhibit June 28 she was the youngest and smallest pup to meet the public in our two-story sea otter exhibit.
Rescued sea otter pup 540 and surrogate mother Joy explore the Sea Otter exhibit together for the first time on June 28, 2011. Joy has helped raise 15 pups, making her the most successful surrogate in the Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation program.
Nine-week Old Sea Otter Pup at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sea otter pup on exhibit!
Pup Pup Hooray
540: That’s the staggering number of animals that have entered the Aquarium’s live-stranding program since our Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) program started in 1984.
540: The number (and temporary name) of the newest pup to grace our sea otter exhibit. At just over two months of age, and weighing 11.4 pounds, she’s the youngest and smallest pup to meet the public in our two-story sea otter exhibit.
For reasons unknown, the little pup washed up on a Cayucos beach in California on April 28. Volunteers from the Marine Mammal Center in Morro Bay responded to a stranding call, along with a sea otter biologist from the California Department of Fish and Game. The pup was clearly in need of urgent care and the Aquarium was alerted that she would be transported to Monterey.
ICU
On arrival, the pup, a female, was assessed by SORAC staff, who looking at her size, weight and other indicators, concluded that she was about a day old. At just a little over two pounds (1kg) she was around half the weight of a typical newborn pup. Over the following weeks, pup 540 responded well to care in our intensive care unit and surprised our staff with her resilience.
Though still considered small for her age, she is otherwise healthy and passing all the developmental milestones right on schedule. The Aquarium determined it would be best to raise her for placement in a zoo or aquarium, rather than release her to the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed, and declared that 540 was a non-releasable animal. This afforded us the special opportunity to place her with Joy on our sea otter exhibit during public hours.
Meet the family
Our five resident female sea otters all play an active role in the SORAC program, as companions or surrogates to stranded animals. Joy, who herself stranded as a two-week old pup in 1998, has been our most successful surrogate to-date, and 540 will be her 15th young charge.
Joy also has experience of caring for a pup in our exhibit; in the summer of 2010, she mentored pup 502, before she transferred to her permanent home at Georgia Aquarium.
Joy and pup 540 met behind-the-scenes the morning of June 22. Our staff ensured that 540 was eating well and bonded with Joy before transferring her to exhibit on the evening of June 28. The pair will be closely monitored to ensure that all goes smoothly.
We can’t guarantee how long 540 will be on exhibit with Joy, so if you can’t come and visit in person, check them out on our Otter Cam. We’ll post updates here, so be sure to check that 540 is still on exhibit if you want to see her!
