SeaWorld San Diego is welcoming a rescued southern sea otter pup to the park's "Wild Arctic" exhibit.
The pup's name is Rey, and she was rescued in Morro Bay off the Central California coast last August when she was just three days old.
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When California Department of Fish and Wildlife's biologists couldn't find her mother, they took Rey to Monterey Bay Aquarium for rehabilitation. But because of Rey's health conditions, animal experts said she could not be released back into the wild.
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Rey, now 10 months old, arrived at SeaWorld in February. Now, she'll be an ambassador for her species in the Wild Arctic.
"We are glad to give Rey a home at Wild Arctic and are very pleased with her adjustment so far," John Stewart, zoological curator at SeaWorld, said in a news release. "Rey is now fully acclimated with all out southern sea otters and is beginning to exhibit a curious personality. She is exploring her new environment at Wild Arctic, and we are looking forward to her first birthday in August."
There are approximately 3,000 sea otters in California, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the species as threatened.
