Happy birthday, Earle! The youngest member of our sea otter raft turned 3 this May, and we celebrated with frozen “crab cakes,” made with with ice, dye, and crab legs.
Earle’s Origin Story
Three years ago, Earle the southern sea otter was found stranded at Asilomar State Marine Reserve in Pacific Grove, California. Motherless, three weeks old, and weighing just 6.5 lbs, the pup would have been unable to survive on his own.
Earle was taken to Monterey Bay Aquarium for immediate care. While surrogate sea otter mothers have been used to rear and prepare stranded pups for eventual release to the wild, there were no surrogates available to care for Earle at the time. He was deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is one of only 15 organizations in the U.S. authorized to accept rescued sea otters, and the goal is to always have a space available for those that cannot be released. Once it was determined that the Aquarium would be Earle’s new home, non-profit organization Turtles Fly Too coordinated the transport.
Upon landing, Earle was greeted by Aquarium staff, who worked around the clock to help him settle in. His caretakers aptly named him after Sylvia Earle, an oceanographer, scuba diver, and research scientist dedicated to conservation.
What’s Earle Up To Now?
Want to see what Earle’s up to? You can watch Earle either on our main otter live camera, or on our otter channel live camera.
