Visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium were treated to a rare sight of a wild sea otter giving birth to her pup. The mother otter hauled out onto a rock in one of the aquariums tide pools in full view of many visitors giving them a front row seat to the full birthing process of a wild animal.

“It’s not every day you get to watch a sea otter pup come into the world! But when a pregnant wild otter took shelter in our Great Tide Pool Saturday, we had a unique opportunity to see it happen. (Spoiler alert: the miracle of life is graphic!) Sea otters can give birth in water or on land. You’ll notice that mom starts grooming her pup right away to help it stay warm and buoyant—a well-groomed sea otter pup is so buoyant it’s practically unsinkable!”

“Grooming also helps get the blood flowing and other internal systems revved up for a career of chomping on invertebrates and keeping nearshore ecosystems, like the kelp forests in Monterey Bay, and the eel grass at Elkhorn Slough, healthy.”

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