I Wonder Where You Are Now, Little Guy

Via Aquarium of the Pacific, which writes:

Earlier this year, the Aquarium of the Pacific received a 3-month-old male sea otter pup who was rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program and was finally ready to be introduced to a surrogate mother. He was paired with resident adult female, Cee, and the two of them formed a comfortable bond behind the scenes

For three months, Aquarium staff provided expert care for the young pup behind the scenes. Every measure is taken to limit pup interaction with humans to boost their chances of surviving in the wild – including monitoring via cameras, donning a disguise for feeding time, and constructing a habitat that obstructs the visibility of any people.

When this pup left the Aquarium to return to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for release to the wild, he weighed a healthy 28 pounds! To date, nine Southern sea otters have successfully gone through the surrogacy program at the Aquarium of the Pacific since our first pup in January 2024.