Remember sea otter pup 719, who was rescued by our Sea Otter Program last month? We’re happy to announce that she’s found a permanent home at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago! Here's a behind-the-scenes look at her journey from rescued pup to new member of the Shedd family.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has the only program in the world that focuses on rescuing and caring for stranded southern sea otter pups. We raise pups for release back into the wild, and try to place non-releasable pups in long-term homes at accredited U.S. aquariums and zoos.
Prepping a pup for release to the wild is an intensive, long-term project. After initial guidance through early developmental stages from our Sea Otter Program staff, pups must complete a survival skills class with one of our five resident female sea otters during a months-long surrogacy-a lot of work for everyone involved!
When 719 stranded, all of our available surrogates were already paired with other rescued pups-so our next option was finding a forever home for the pup at an AZA accredited institution. Luckily, our friends and close colleagues at Shedd Aquarium had room available in their sea otter exhibit!