CHICAGO — A 10-week-old orphaned southern sea otter pup has found a new home at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.
Aquarium officials said Tuesday the female pup arrived in Chicago on Jan. 27 from Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. She now weighs 11 pounds and is being cared for at Shedd’s sea otter nursery.
Shedd officials say heavy storms may have been why the pup was separated from her mother. She was found alone on Carmel Beach in Carmel, Calif., on Jan. 6.
Experts caring for the pup say she’s started eating solid foods, foraging for food and grooming on her own.
The pup is the third young sea otter the Shedd Aquarium has taken in from the California aquarium. In 2014, the aquarium became home to Luna, who needed intensive care and rehabilitation.
