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Sea Otter Spotting Guide
Our
southern sea otters spend time behind the scenes as well as on exhibit, so you won't see them all at one time. This guide will help you identify who's who and other fun things you might see on our live web cam. | ||||
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Mae You'll know Mae by her dark fur and white whiskers. She's also the smallest and most active otter. You might see her tumbling at the surface or diving for toys. | ||
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Maggie Maggie is a stocky otter with a thick neck and broad head—her face is speckled gray and white. Maggie spends a lot of time swimming through the tunnels. | ||
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Rosa To find Rosa, look for the white speckles on her face. After a feeding, you might see her stashing "leftovers" on the deck until she's hungry for more. | ||
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Toola Toola has light blonde fur on her head and muzzle. She likes to "periscope" her head above the water with her mouth open. Toola spends most of her time behind the scenes caring for stranded pups. | ||
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Joy Joy starts each day with a burst of energy. Always willing to let you know that she's ready to play, Joy loves to perform for our guests. Joy spends most of her time behind the scenes caring for stranded pups. | ||
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Aquarist Our aquarists hand-feed the otters four times a day in our Sea Otter feeding show. An otter re-fuels by eating up to a quarter of its weight in food a day. Our otters eat many kinds of invertebrates, including clams, crabs, squid and shrimp. | ||
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Artificial kelp Kelp provides a safe haven for sea otters in the wild—they often sleep wrapped in kelp fronds, which keep them from drifting away. In our exhibit, the otters would damage live kelp too quickly, so we supply them with artificial kelp. | ||
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Crate We train our otters to climb into and out of a crate to limit how much aquarists handle them when the otters are moved behind the scenes to care for stranded pups, for their annual medical exams or while we conduct exhibit maintenance. | ||
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Ice A dietary enrichment we often provide the otters is freshwater ice or invertebrates frozen in ice. Clams or shrimp in ice is a crunchy treat for them, and it provides all the fresh water they need. | ||
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Net During some feedings, we briefly hold the otters in a net so that they are accustomed to it. This gets them used to the net in case we have to move them rapidly during an emergency. | ||
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Pool A small swimming pool on the deck filled with ice or food gives the otters new terrain to explore. At first, the otters usually get in the pool to eat—once it's lighter, they often pull the pool into the water. | ||
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Sniff test Sea otters are believed to have a keen sense of smell—this test provides data that shows to what degree. In the wild, a keen sense of smell may help otters avoid rotten food, navigate to kelp beds and recognize other otters. Researchers hope to develop repellent odors that keep sea otters away from dangers such as oil spills. | ||
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Target Aquarists train the otters to focus on a target. Targets provide mental stimulation and allow aquarists to keep the otters still without physical restraint. Veterinarians are then able to give routine low-stress medical checkups. | ||
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Toys Aquarists fill toys like frisbees and balls with food and place them in the exhibit for the otters. Food-filled toys enrich the otters' environment—when they find a new object, they'll sniff it, paw it and pound it to get at the treats inside. | ||
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Tubes of food Tubes filled with food, such as crab or shrimp, provide enrichment for the otters. Aquarists freeze the food inside the tube—then it's up to the otters to figure out how to get it out. They'll put their paws inside the tube, shake it and pound it against the windows to work the food out. | ||
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