Our sea otter surrogacy method is a model of success

A few years ago, Otter 845, a three-week-old pup prematurely separated from her mother, stranded on a beach in Davenport, California. State wildlife officials brought her to us, and we cared for her until she was old enough to dive for and eat solid food. We then paired her with one of our resident adult female sea otters, Ivy, who taught her the skills she needed to survive in the wild.

Once she was old enough to return to the wild, we released 845 in Monterey Bay. She foraged, rested with other otters, and settled into her home along the coast — all signs that Ivy had taught her well. Last summer, we spotted 845 with the most encouraging sign of all: a pup of her own — showing how our surrogacy program is helping support the recovery of the sea otter population.

The sea otter surrogacy practices we developed are the standard of care in the species’ rehabilitation. To expand surrogacy efforts, we’re sharing those practices with partner aquariums so they can use their facilities, staff, and resident sea otters to help us return more rehabilitated sea otters to the wild.

Today, southern sea otters inhabit only about 13 percent of their historical range, and the threatened population is struggling to expand beyond it. In July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a congressionally mandated study on the feasibility of returning sea otters to areas they inhabited before fur traders hunted them to near-extinction. The study, which we played a significant role in developing, found that sea otter reintroduction along the U.S. West Coast is not only feasible, but that it would also benefit species recovery, coastal ecosystem health, and coastal communities.

The USFWS report also highlighted the release of surrogate-reared otters as a key method of potential reintroduction efforts. By expanding our surrogacy program to other aquarium partners, we will collectively be able to raise and release many more orphaned sea otters, rebuilding the otter population in places they’ve been absent for more than a century. By doing so, we’re supporting the recovery of California’s coastal ecosystems — which, in turn, provide priceless natural services to humanity.