Fearless Travel

Okay, this is the last post about otters - in case you had not guessed, they are my favorite animals in the world. So, here we have Rosa the otter of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Her and her colleagues spend most of the day in this tank or in a tank behind the scenes. Rosa and her girls are important for one good reason; they foster other Sea Otters and teach them how to be Sea Otters. That whole “instinct” thing they tell you of in biology class? All wrong; as it turns out, picking the right food, choosing rocks, and even winding one’s self in a tendril of sea weed for a good nap are all learned skills. When an orphan Sea Otter is found, they are usually paired with Rosa or a friend of hers and they take on the mothering aspect; providing milk if necessary, teaching the other otter how to do all the things that allow Sea Otters to survive in the wild. After the other otter gets large enough, they are allowed to find their way back to the sea through a series of tanks and waterfalls that lead directly to Monterey Bay; in fact, one adoptive mother otter was so taken with her charge, that she left with the baby. Now there are five female Sea Otters at the Moneterey Bay aquarium (though the sixth one also hangs around near the aquarium and can be seen occasionally). I hope you enjoy Rosa’s antics in the video below.

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