Via Monterey Bay Aquarium, which writes:
A rescued male sea otter pup went on exhibit January 21, with companion otter, Gidget. The debut of the 12 1/2-week-old makes him the sixth pup ever to go on exhibit. He’s also the 649th stranded otter to be brought into our Sea Otter Research and Conservation program since 1984.
Otter 649 was stranded in November 2013 on Jalama Beach in Santa Barbara County as a three-week-old weighing less than seven pounds. He was admitted into our veterinary intensive care unit, where he was cared for until he was introduced to Gidget. Otter 649 is now robust and healthy, weighing 16 pounds!
Otter 649 will be transferred to another aquarium accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, where he’ll learn how to socialize with other exhibit animals. That’s why, for now, this otter has a number for a name—our colleagues at the sister aquarium get to do the naming!
Otter 649 is easy to recognize due to his smaller size and uniformly black, velvet-like fur. He will remain on exhibit as long as husbandry staff continues to see positive interactions with Gidget. (This is the first pup Gidget has mentored.) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has authorized the Aquarium to raise him on exhibit and declared him to be non-releasable.
Check out the aquarium's post for more photos of little pup 649!