Baby sea otter “Caterpillar” was rescued off the central California coast after being separated from its mother. The roughly two-week-old pup was heard crying in Morro Bay, and staff from the Marine Mammal Center, together with the local harbor patrol, located it and placed it safely on their boat.
To find the mother, they played recordings of the pup’s cries over a speaker while searching the bay. After about two hours, a female otter appeared and persistently followed the boat, indicating she was looking for her baby. The rescuers then placed the pup back into the water, where the mother immediately swam over, embraced it, and reunited with her offspring.
Southern sea otters remain a threatened species, with only about 3,000 left in California. Each successful reunion is important for the population’s recovery.
