Shark bite survivor, sea otter scientist, and surrogate mother: Time to meet the hardworking Selka the Sea Otter! Selka was found stranded in July of 2012 off Cayucos, California as a one-week-old pup. She was cared for at the Aquarium and released into the wild in June 2013. Unfortunately, eight weeks after release, she was found hauled out in Moss Landing Harbor with severe shark bite injuries. She underwent extensive surgery and recovery back at the Aquarium, and splashed back into the wild four months later. After several months in the wild, Selka was brought back to the Aquarium due to concerns about her health and several interactions with people. She was declared non-releasable by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Selka spent the next two years at UC Santa Cruz’ Long Marine Lab, where she helped researchers understand how wild sea otters search for and acquire enough prey to survive in their ocean home. Selka joined our exhibit in August of 2016. She’s clever, with an easy-going and inquisitive nature. Selka is our youngest otter and has the darkest fur of any of the otters at the Aquarium. Even at her young age, she’s already proven herself to be a successful surrogate mother. Thanks for all you do for sea otters, Selka! ____ Meet the rest of our resident sea otters: https://mbayaq.co/2lW1Qqm Watch more otterly pawesome sea otter videos: http://mbayaq.co/1FEbqQv Read our latest scientific paper about our 15 years of sea otter surrogacy work: https://mbayaq.co/2mB7QFf Donate to our Sea Otter Program: http://mbayaq.co/1LBB9fQ ____ Whale hello there! We hope you liked this video. Subscribe to our channel for more from the Monterey Bay and our mission to inspire conservation of the ocean: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_… We’re on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MontereyAq And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/montereybaya… Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/montereybay… And Tumblr! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/montereyb…
