Wild Otter Swims Into Aquarium’s Tide Pool, Gives Birth To Adorable Pup

One of the most popular attractions at the Monterey Bay Aquarium are the sea otters, and this weekend was especially popular with the arrival of a new-and unexpected-arrival.

Marine animals come and go from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s outdoor tide pool because it is connected to the ocean, and Sunday morning, a wild sea otter mother chose the tide pool as the place where she wanted to give birth.

Over the weekend, aquarium officials say they noticed a female otter lounging in the aquarium’s protected lagoon, which is visible from numerous facilities outdoor spaces.

It’s rare for a healthy sea otter to visit the area so much, so aquarium employees were started to wonder if the sea otter was OK. Unlike a lot of other aquatic creatures, such as whales and penguins, sea otters don’t have a bunch of body fat to keep them warm.

A Periscope rebroadcast of the sea otter birth at the Aquarium reveals the scene not long after it was born around 8:30am, with legion MBA staff looking on. Thanks to conservation measures, their population has rebounded to just over 2,000 – with each new birth being a cause of celebration (and plenty of gushing).

A mother and newborn sea otter are pictured after the baby’s birth on December 20, 2015.