Orphaned Sea Otter Pup Bonds with Surrogate Mother at California Aquarium
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By Staff Author Updated on May 10, 2026 11:19AM EDT
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Summary
A 16-week-old orphaned southern sea otter pup named Sunny has been rescued and successfully bonded with a 2-year-old female sea otter named Rey at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. The pairing is part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's sea otter surrogacy program, where Rey serves as a surrogate mother to Sunny. The two otters are coexisting well, and Sunny will eventually be trained to become a surrogate otter for other young pups in the future.
Key quotes
· 1 pulledSpeaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Brett Long, senior vice president of the Aquarium of the Pacific, said the two otters are coexisting 'really well.'
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