Our surrogate-raised sea otters are helping restore a wetland

Otter 501 meanders through the tidal creeks near Yampah Island in Elkhorn Slough with a dozing pup on her chest. She massages the pup’s rump and blows air into its fur as she makes her way toward a main channel to feed.

To an observer, 501 might look like any other sea otter going about her business. But she’s thriving in the wild today because of a rather remarkable program at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

According to surprising new research, the same can be said of the majority of Elkhorn Slough’s otters.

Sea otters and eelgrass, in one infographic

Long-term observations by our sea otter scientists confirm that sea otters are transforming the Elkhorn Slough estuary, in positive ways, by devouring predators that keep eelgrass beds from thriving. We’ve told the story before, in words and pictures. For Sea Otter Awareness Week, we’ve created a simple infographic to document the relationships. You can read more on the aquarium’s general interest Tumblr blog.