In 2001, someone had the idea of introducing an orphaned pup to an adult female otter they were rehabilitating. The program was officially launched the next year.
The Monterey Bay Aquariuim’s Sea Otter Surrogacy Program pairs a rescued otter pup with one of the aquarium’s resident adult female otters, who raises the pup like her own. , a sea otter named Selka paddles around an above-ground pool, a fluffy pup clutched to her chest. With unquestionable maternal diligence, she grooms, snuggles and shares food with this little one, despite the fact that it isn’t her baby.
Some pups are rescued at as young as a day old, said Fujii, and for their first few months of life, the pups are under nearly round-the-clock care by human staff and volunteers — who are gloved and masked to prevent the pups from habituating to their presence. The pup continues to live with and learn from its otter mom until about six months of age, which is the typical weaning age for otters in the wild, said Fujii. Then the pup is separated from the foster, but remains at the aquarium for a few more months to continue socializing and practicing its foraging skills until it seems like it’s ready to be released.“Currently, we’re still the only facility in the world that rescues sea otter pups with the intent of release back to the wild,” said Fujii.
“But they didn’t have any of the skills of surviving in the wild,” she said, so they became the first residents of the aquarium’s otter exhibit. In April of this year, the Aquarium of the Pacific received their first pup and paired her with first-time surrogate mother Millie. This was Millie’s first time with a releasable pup at the aquarium, but “she’s been around a number of other juvenile pups and she’s always just ‘Mommy Mille,’” said Smylie. “She will mom anything that’s younger.”
“When I started with the Program, surrogacy was already underway,” said Fujii, “but I’ve been able to visit Elkhorn Slough and see the changes in the ecosystem,” referencing how much healthier the eelgrass and the rest of the estuary has become because of the otters. As a keystone species, sea otters play critical roles in shaping their habitats, which is a major reason why rebuilding the sea otter population is so important.
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