It’s easy to fall in love with a baby sea otter—especially when the mother had to overcome incredible odds to become a parent.

In 2005, the new mom was herself a pup—stranded, rescued and raised through our Sea Otter Research and Conservation program. Joy—one of our four exhibit otters—served as her surrogate mother, and we returned her to the wild in 2006.

Now she’s the first surrogate-raised otter to have a pup of her own, powerful evidence that animals under our care can fully integrate back into the wild.

That’s just a small part of what we do for sea otters. Our researchers are currently participating in a population study based in Big Sur, along with collaborators from the U.S. Geological Survey, UC Santa Cruz and California Department of Fish and Game. 

By taking blood samples and fitting otters with radio transmitters, this team hopes to learn if the isolated population there is healthier than otters elsewhere in California where pollution levels may be higher. If the otters near Big Sur suffer fewer diseases and parasites than those living in less pristine waters, we may find clues to explain why the pace of sea otter recovery remains slow.

And the research funding for this field work? It comes in part from individual contributions through California’s income tax check-off, a program enacted after a legislator learned of the otters’ plight during a family visit to the Aquarium. Total contributions to date: more than $500,000.