Young Sea Otters were Hand-Fed
The Early Days of MBA
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been caring for Southern Sea Otters since before they even opened as an aquarium. In 1981, a concerned citizen brought their inexperienced 9-member staff an orphaned male sea otter pup, who sadly died.
With a renewed determination to make sure that wouldn't happen again, MBA joined the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Team in 1982 — a team created by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to research and protect the struggling Southern Sea Otter population.
Read more about the history of MBA's Sea Otter Program.