Ivy the Otter

Ivy was found stranded in November 2011 on Cayucos State Beach in San Luis Obispo County as a two-week-old pup. She was cared for by Sea Otter Research and Conservation program staff for seven weeks, and then introduced to Toola—the Aquarium's most experienced surrogate mother at the time. After a number of factors interfered with her timely release, Ivy was declared non-releasable by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ivy formally joined the sea otter exhibit in December 2012 at just over one year old. She's the youngest otter on exhibit, earning the nickname "wild child" by Aquarium staff because of her liveliness during training. Ivy is named after a character in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and you can easily identify her by the red and turquoise tags on her flippers.