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More Sea Otter Pup Cuteness From The Shedd Aquarium

By Lisa White in News on Nov 5, 2014 10:40PM

When the Shedd Aquarium asks if you'd like to come meet their newest resident, a fuzzy five-week-old orphaned southern sea otter pup, you don't hesitate on saying yes. So after squealing over the adorable photos we posted this morning of Pup 681, we headed down to the Shedd to meet the adorable new member of their family and chat with Christy Sterling, assistant supervisor of penguins and otters, about Pup 681.

We already spoke about Pup 681's rescue and she seems to be adjusting well into her new home. During our visit she was fast asleep amongst her towels, occasionally wiggling around and burying her little head into a more comfortable nap position. Pup 681 currently has round-the-clock care, but what exactly does that entail? Sterling explained that it's very similar to taking care of a human baby. "They need a lot of intense care, attention, feedings every couple of hours or so." Since Pup 681 is still so young, Sterling points out she doesn't know how to groom, so the staff at the Shedd is teaching her since that is something her mom would do in the wild. "We help her groom because when she comes out of the water, her fur can be really wet, and that is how otters stay warm with really dense insulated fur. She's also really young so she'll help us out and try to learn but sometimes she just falls asleep because she gets really tired."

Yes, this adorable pup will suddenly fall asleep while trying to groom because she is just too sleepy. It's totally ok to pause and say "aww" out loud right now. We did.

"Right now we're watching her all the time when she is in the water because since she is still so young, she still is just learning how to come out [of the water] so we've got a little ramp for her," Sterling adds about Pup 681's current home. She also has toys to play (and learn) with and loves to hide and nap in the soft material that mimics kelp. Right now the staff is teaching her how to be an otter from scratch, since she was rescued at such a young age. She can't dive yet, but Sterling did point out that they see her trying to look under the water and think about giving it a shot. Pup 681 has a lot to learn but with the help of the Shedd staff she'll soon be diving with the best of them. She doesn't have a name, yet, but we've nicknamed her Mitzi around the office for our own amusement because adorable animals are even more adorable when they have cute names.

We're pretty smitten with her and can't wait to see her learn and grow at the Shedd. Welcome to your new home, Pup 681!