Otters of the Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Otter Bios
Abby was rescued as a newborn in July 2007 by the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Rescue Center and raised at SeaWorld San Diego, where she became a popular exhibit otter. She was transferred to the Aquarium in June 2012 to join the sea otter exhibit and became a surrogate mother to her first pup, Sina, in January 2013.

To spot Abby, look for the all-brown otter sticking out her tongue! She likes playing with artificial kelp, taking ice baths and eating frozen treats. She also grew attached to towels as a young pup. Abby likes being touched on the head, chest and back, and even waits at the door before feeding sessions.

Gidget was found stranded on Morro Strand State Beach in San Luis Obispo County in October 2008 as a 10-week-old pup. She was rescued by volunteers from The Marine Mammal Center and a California Department of Fish and Game biologist, before being taken to the Aquarium. After being raised at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Gidget arrived at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in January 2013 at four years old, joining the sea otter exhibit in the hope she becomes a future surrogate mother to wild pups. She's keeping busy with toys and enrichment activities, and learning how to handle live food items. You can recognize her by her grizzled face.

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.

Kit was found stranded in Morro Bay in January 2010 at five weeks old, crying and trying to climb on adult females. A California Department of Fish and Game biologist rescued her and, based on authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was not released to the wild. In 2010 Kit became the youngest sea otter pup ever to go on exhibit at the Aquarium—just 11 weeks old—learning critical otter skills like cracking clams and eating live crab without getting bit! In June 2012 she was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego where she continued to mature and learn how to socialize with other exhibit animals.

In January 2013, at three years old, Kit returned to the Aquarium to become a surrogate mother and mentor pups behind the scenes. The chocolate-brown otter, named after a character in John Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus, is one of our biggest otters and weighs about 50 pounds.

Rosa's our oldest sea otter. She was found stranded near Sunset and Manresa State Beaches in southern Santa Cruz County in September 1999, only about four weeks old and weighing just over five pounds. In April 2000 she was released back to the wild where she spent nearly two years until she began interacting with divers and climbing onto kayaks. Because of the potential risks to herself and people, federal wildlife officials declared her non-releasable.

Rosa joined the sea otter exhibit in June 2002. During her years at the Aquarium she's put her maternal instincts to work—she's reared 11 pups and is our most experienced surrogate mother on exhibit. She's our largest otter, and you can also identify her by the silvered-colored fur on her head and white freckles. After a feeding, you can often see her stashing leftovers on the deck. She gets her name from a character in John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flats—the first of the author's novels set on Cannery Row.

Vote for Your Favorite
Which of the pack do you find otterly (*snort*) adorable? Abby Gidget Ivy Kit Rosa