Otterly Amazing! Another wild sea otter born at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

A wild sea otter and her pup are doing well after the mother gave birth this weekend inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Great Tide Pool.

It’s the second time in four months that a wild sea otter has picked the tide pool to give birth.

“We have aquarium sea otter biologists and scientists that have worked decades with sea otters and have never seen a live birth,” Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Angela Hains said. “So yeah, we feel very, very special.”

On Saturday, the pregnant sea otter swam into the Great Tide Pool to seek refuge from the storm. She gave birth about four hours later.

“I go out surfing a lot and occasionally I see sea otters,” Jeremiah Fulton from Monterey said. “But I’ve never seen one with a baby. It’s super cute.”

Last December, another wild sea otter gave birth in the Great Tide Pool. The Aquarium believes there’s a connection.

Both births happened during stormy weather.

“Scientists say the recent El-Nio storms could be why these moms are coming in here and finding a safe, calm place to give birth.”

The Great Tide Pool behind the Aquarium was created as a safe place for young scuba divers. Now it’s becoming a safe haven for southern sea otters.

“I think the amazing message about this little pup being born in our Great Tide Pool is that we’ve worked so hard for so long to conserve and preserve the Monterey Bay, and this is just another indicator that we’re doing a good job in that.”

Local researchers are documenting an increase in southern sea otters across the Central Coast.

Once nearly extinct after being hunted for food and fur, this is another hopeful sign.