Wild sea otter gives birth to pup in aquarium

The animal had taken refuge in the Great Tide Pool in the aquarium.

Inspiring.ntd.tv reported that a wild sea otter gave birth to an adorable pup on December 20, 2015.

When photographer Connie Levenhagen Niemi visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, she was amazed to see the animal with its offspring.

She decided to shoot a video of the two sea otters and posted it on YouTube. The video shows a baby sea otter lying on its mother’s chest.

The wild sea otter had visited the protected basin of the Great Tide Pool in the aquarium for several days mainly to ‘rest from the winter storms.’

The staff was concerned as it is very rare for a healthy sea otter to visit the pool frequently. When they saw the animal again on December 19, they wondered if everything was fine.

‘Well, mystery solved! Around 8:30 a.m., Aquarium staff witnessed a BRAND NEW pup resting on her belly, being furiously groomed by a proud momma,’ the aquarium wrote on their website.

The mother and the pup spend some quality time together. The following day, the mother had cleaned up the pup’s fur to help her float.

The staff and the visitors witnessed some cute moments between the two.

Aquarium trainer Dan Albro said that the mother may have swum into the tidal pool because the protected area is “nice and calm.” It is hard work for the creature in the waves and the wind of the sea.

It was a conservation success story taking place right in front of the aquarium staff, volunteers, and visitors.

The sea otters were in the danger of becoming extinct due to hunting. Until recently, only about 50 of these furry sea creatures were left in California.

However, things changed for the better and now, thanks to legislative protection and a change of heart towards these animals, their population has increased to steady levels in the Monterey Bay.

Today, there are more than 3,000 sea otters in central California alone.