Cute News Alert: Baby Sea Otter Coming to Vancouver Aquarium

September 7, 2016
CL
ByCarrie Leslie
3 min read

In today’s top story in the cutest news ever: a new baby sea otter will be joining the crew at the Vancouver Aquarium after being rescued and rehabilitated by the nearby Seattle Aquarium.

The stranded pup was discovered in early August, alone and starving on Rialto Beach, which is located on the outer coast of Washington state. He was only about three weeks old and incredibly thin and weak. Unlike the seals that seem to overpopulate our waters, sea otters are listed under the state of Washington as a threatened species.

The orphaned pup (now known as “Rialto”) will be moving to the Vancouver Aquarium as soon as he’s stable and the proper permits have been obtained.

vancouver aquarium sea otter

Image courtesy of Seattle Aquarium.

After being rescued, Rialto made a near-miraculous recovery, thanks to experts at the Seattle aquarium, where he has been in round-the-clock care ever since. When he was first found, Rialto weighed just 4.2 pounds. Last Thursday, he weighed in at 9.4 pounds. However, due to lack of space at the Seattle Aquarium, Rialto was in need of a new home. Luckily for us, the Vancouver Aquarium has stepped up to provide a home for this amazingly cute sea otter.

Human-raised pups lack the skills needed for survival and have a very difficult time being reintroduced into the wild. For that reason, Rialto will be joining the three current Vancouver sea otter residents: Elfin, a male, and two females Tanu and Katmal.

rialto vancouver aquarium

GIF created by the Seattle Times.

After he arrives in Vancouver, Rialto will continue to live by himself to mature and get bigger, said Brian Sheehan, curator of marine mammals at the Vancouver Aquarium. But visitors will be able to enjoy his antics from the get-go, with a live video feed from his nursery to a monitor in the visitor area, so people can watch him grow up.

Want to check in on the sea otters in Vancouver? Take a look at the Vancouver Aquarium sea otter webcam!

baby sea otter
Vancouver Aquarium
Rialto
rescued sea otter
sea otter rehabilitation
Seattle Aquarium
threatened species
Rialto Beach