16/01/2023
A Monterey Bay Aquarium sea otter, one of the facility’s adult females that serve as mothering surrogates to rescued pups, is netted during separation from her latest charge. The young sea otter, presumably now trained to survive alone, will be released back into the wild. These separations can set off squealing lamentation from the surrogate—but not always. “Sometimes they’re extremely bonded,” says Christine DeAngelo, the aquarium’s registrar and animal welfare program manager. “And sometimes they’re like: ‘Take it. I’m done.’ ”