Sea otter pup gets new home at Long Beach aquarium. Want to name him?
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach has welcomed a sea otter pup that was found abandoned in Carmel-by-the-Sea in April, and is seeking the public’s help in naming him.
Through the aquarium’s Adopt an Animal program, people can virtually adopt the pup by Sept. 30 for $100 or pay more to suggest a name. If the name is chosen, the person who suggested it will be invited to a training and feeding session with one of the animals at the aquarium.
The sea otter was found without his mother April 12 and was estimated by experts to be 3 weeks old, according to a news release. The pup was taken to Monterey Bay Aquarium, where staff tried to pair him with a surrogate mother, but were unsuccessful.
Federal wildlife officials have taken the first step toward potentially reintroducing sea otters to their former habitats in Northern California and Oregon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deemed the sea otter to be non-releasable into the wild.
The pup arrived at the Aquarium of the Pacific and was moved into a behind-the-scenes pool with an adult sea otter named Chloe, according to the aquarium.
“Chloe and the pup are socializing well together and have formed a close bond,” said Brett Long, Aquarium of the Pacific’s curator of mammals and birds.
The pup is 4 months old and is in the aquarium’s sea otter habitat, which he shares with four other rescued sea otters that have been transported there since December. The new pup has “slightly lighter-colored fur on his face.”
The Aquarium of the Pacific announced the sudden passing of Betty, a 10-year-old southern sea otter.
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