There will be plenty of feel-good stories this holiday season, and one involves a baby sea otter that was discovered lost and shivering on Twin Lake Beach in Santa Cruz, Calif.
She weighed only 5 pounds. Her eyes searched for her mother but she had somehow become orphaned. If left alone she faced certain death, so state wildlife officials picked her up and delivered her to a Northern California care facility while a search began for a permanent home.
That was nearly three months ago. On Thursday the furry little critter was the subject of a mini-media frenzy as she was shown to reporters where she now resides, at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
This survival story comes at a time when California's iconic sea otters are struggling to survive in the wild, their numbers having dropped precipitously in recent years because of pollution, malnutrition and shark attacks.
Ollie, who was named by a 6-year-old cancer patient and aquarium regular, has flourished to where she can now be put on public display for behind-the-scenes tours. Ultimately she'll join the main exhibit space with four other ultra-cute otters, named Maggie Sr. and Little Maggie, Brook and Charlie.
Ollie weighed 10 pounds when she was delivered from the care center, and now weighs 18 pounds.
"Ollie loves eating clam and playing with enrichment toys," said Caitlin Dixon, senior mammal expert at the Long Beach facility. "When tours walk by, they will most likely hear her as she's our most talkative otter."
It's hoped that Ollie will help raise awareness about the plight of Central California's otters, which are critical to the health of the region's rich kelp-forest habitat.
Currently, only about 2,700 otters reside within a 200-mile range.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo of Ollie courtesy of Hugh Ryono / Aquarium of the Pacific
Comments