Sea Otter Pups 870 and 872 Have Their New Names!
The votes are in for sea otter Pup 870’s and Pup 872’s names! They are - drumroll, please - Cooper and Watson! The name Cooper (for Pup 870) is derived from Cupertino, CA, and Watson from Watsonville, CA, near where Pup 872 (now Watson) was found.
Cooper (formerly Pup 870) and Watson (formerly Pup 872) were previously referred to by their intake numbers, given to them when they were rescued by partners at Monterey Bay Aquarium. The pups, both males, were discovered on the coast of California with no mother or adult otters in sight at just a couple weeks old and were cared for at Monterey before Shedd Aquarium’s Animal Response Team flew out to California to assist in their care and accompany them home to Chicago.
Since their arrival at Shedd, the five-month-old pups have been living behind the scenes in the Regenstein Pup Nursery as animal care staff teach them how to be otters – building important skills like foraging, diving and grooming their dense fur. But the animal care team is now gradually introducing them to the public habitat over the next few weeks, meaning guests may soon have their first opportunity to see the pups with their own eyes.
“We are delighted by all the excitement that this naming vote generated and even happier to have decided on two wonderful names for our rescued pups,” said Lana Gonzalez, manager of penguins and otters at Shedd Aquarium. “We look forward to telling the stories of these two pups with guests and inspiring the public to take action of species like sea otters to keep them around well into the future.”
And now that they have their new names, they have new tags for easy Cooper-Watson-cuteness viewing - see below!
Photos via Shedd Aquarium
