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Rescued sea otters make debut at Monterey Bay Aquarium

By
Tim Fang
Digital News Producer, CBS Bay Area
Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.
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Tim Fang

/ CBS San Francisco

Two orphaned sea otters that were rescued off the Central California coast are making their debuts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

On Tuesday the aquarium , named Willow and Suri, as they entered the Sea Otter Exhibit.

"After many adventures together, today Suri and Willow return to us as both charming ambassadors for their species and stellar candidates for our Sea Otter Program," the aquarium said on its Facebook page.

Suri, whose name is derived from the Big Sur coastline, was rescued from Asilomar State Beach in nearby Pacific Grove in Jan. 2022 when she was four weeks old. In a , staff described Suri's personality as "bold, independent, and explorative."

Willow is named after the Willow Creek Picnic Area and Beach in Monterey, near where she was rescued in Mar. 2022 as a six-week-old. Her personality is described as "social, industrious, and resourceful."

Both otters were admitted to the aquarium's rehabilitation program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deemed Suri and Willow not suitable for release back into the wild and the pair were sent to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach as they awaited placement.

The pair were then sent to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in Oct. 2022 to be ambassadors for southern sea otters and to learn cooperative care behaviors, the aquarium said. Suri and Willow were transferred back to the Aquarium of the Pacific in April of last year before returning to the Central Coast.

"We're deeply grateful to our fintastic conservation partners at Aquarium of the Pacific and Shedd Aquarium for helping us bring this whiskered and resilient duo home," the aquarium said.

Aquarium officials said Suri and Willow may serve as surrogate mothers for other orphaned sea otter pups.

The pair join three other otters: Ivy, Opal and Selka.

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