The pregnant otter travelled to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Great Tidepool, where the aquarium’s sea water flows out, to give birth to the baby. The mother and the baby are free to swim back into the ocean.
The tide pool is connected to the bay where they rehab otters. This weekend, which was cold and rainy, the wild otter came into the tide pool to hang out — and Sunday morning gave birth to a baby there! After a nice respite from the open sea, they have gone on their way back to the bay.
“It’s rare for a healthy sea otter to visit the pool so frequently—we started to wonder if she was doing all right,” aquarium staff wrote in an online blog. “Mystery solved! Around 8:30 a.m. (Sunday), Aquarium staff witnessed a BRAND NEW pup resting on her belly, being furiously groomed by a proud momma.”
The Aquarium has a blog that will run continual updates, located here: montereybayaquarium.tumblr.com
Tyson V. Rininger, Monterey Bay Aquarium
