We'll Miss You, Eddie

The Daily Otter and Eddie go way back - you might remember Eddie as the geriatric sea otter who shot hoops with the best of them. Or you might remember Eddie helping to raise little rescued sea otter Juno. Or you might remember Eddie’s 20th (20th!) birthday earlier this year. Sadly, our pal passed away yesterday at almost 21 years old. The Oregon Zoo put together the above video in memory of Eddie, and writes:

His hoops skills earned him worldwide fame throughout his golden years, but age finally caught up to Eddie, the Oregon Zoo's slam-dunking sea otter, who was humanely euthanized [yesterday] morning following a decline related to his advanced years. At nearly 21, Eddie was considered one of the oldest — and most talented — sea otters on the planet.

"Male sea otters seldom live past 15 years, so Eddie was among the very oldest of his kind," said Amy Cutting, who oversees the zoo's marine life area. "He was quite feisty as a young otter, and we still saw that spirit come through during his later years. He got along great with our two younger otters, Juno and Lincoln, and was often observed wrestling and playing with them. But he was the elder statesman of the group, and they learned to leave him alone when he wanted to rest."

Orphaned as a pup along the California coast in 1998, and lacking the skills to survive on his own in the wild, Eddie was taken to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's rescue and care program for rehabilitation. Eventually, though, he was deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and in 2000 he came to the Oregon Zoo.

We’ll miss you, Eddie!