PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Zoo’s otter family got a little bigger this week.
The zoo announced Uni, an orphaned pup stranded on a beach near Santa Cruz, California, arrived this week.
Uni was found on the beach in December and brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s rescue and care program. Uni couldn’t be paired with a surrogate mom and she was deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, officials with the Oregon Zoo said.
The 24-pound, 5-month old is currently being cared for in a behind the scenes nursery.
“We’re thrilled to be able to give Uni a home,” said Nicole Nicassio-Hiskey, the zoo’s senior marine mammal keeper. “She’s already showing us her playful personality — I think she’s going to have a lot of fun here with our sea otters Lincoln and Juno.”
Visitors should get their first look at Uni in June when she is expected to join the zoo’s adult sea otters at Stellar Cove.
