Rescued sea otter begins training at Shedd Aquarium to become a surrogate mom

CHICAGO (WGN) — A new sea otter has moved into the Shedd Aquarium where she will begin training for a very important role.

The unnamed two-year-old otter was rescued in Marina, California by Monterey Bay Aquarium in June 2022.

She is getting used to her new home and caretakers in Chicago. In time, the rescued sea otter will be trained to become a surrogate mom.

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The animal care team at Shedd helps female otters practice skills like diving, foraging and hunting that they can pass onto pups at the Aquarium of the Pacific or Monterey Bay Aquarium.

“This could look like sinking carwash strip material that mimics kelp and adding food to crevices to encourage sea otters to dive to the bottom of the habitat, search for food and utilize their pockets,” the aquarium said.

She follows in the footsteps of Suri and Willow, who finished their training at Shedd and are now heading back to the Aquarium of the Pacific in California to become surrogate moms.

“This is a full circle moment as we deliver on our promise to prepare this pair to potentially help rescued pups return to the wild after learning critical life skills,” Andrea Oake, manager of sea otters and sea lions at Shedd, said. “As we say a bittersweet goodbye, we also start the process over again.”