Help Name Two New Sea Otter Pups At Shedd Aquarium

Two rescued sea otter pups at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium need names, and you can help choose! Heading into Sea Otter Awareness Week from Sept. 22 to Sept. 28, the aquarium is hosting a digital naming contest for the two male pups rescued from the coast of California. The five-month-old pups were found on the coast at just two weeks old with no mother or adult otters in sight. They were rescued by partners at Monterey Bay Aquarium. They were cared for at Monterey before coming to Shedd. Since their arrival, the pups have been living behind the scenes at the Regenstein Pup Nursery as animal care staff teach them how to be otters by building skills like foraging, diving and grooming their dense fur. The to-be-named pups are currently referred to by their intake numbers, Pups 870 and 872. Name choices all correspond to a location along the coast of California where sea otters can be found. The name choices are: Cooper: named after Cupertino, California, near San Jose Watson: named after the town of Watsonville, near Monterey and Port Watsonville, less than an hour drive from where pup 872 was found Bennett: named after Point Bennett on San Miguel Island, one of the Channel Islands Simon: named after Simonton Cove on San Miguel Island, one of the Channel Islands Obi: short for Obispo of San Luis Obispo Members of the public can vote as many times as they would like on the Shedd website starting Thursday. Voting ends Saturday, Sept. 28. Winning names will be announced Sept. 30. At that time the pups will be introduced to the Regenstein Sea Otter Habitat, so that public can have its first opportunity to see them during a visit.