Shedd Raising Sea Otter Pup Abandoned In California
(CBS) -- The Shedd Aquarium is raising a sea otter pup that was abandoned by her mother about five weeks ago off the California coast - about an hour south of San Francisco.
When we got a chance to look in on the southern sea otter at the Shedd, she was rolling around on a towel.
"They have up to a million hairs per square inch, and the way that they stay warm is not by blubber but by keeping that fur groomed and keeping air in the fur. It gives them an insulating coat," said Tim Binder, vice president of animal collections at the Shedd.
Christy Sterling, assistant supervisor of penguins and otters, is one of the pup's round-the-clock caregivers.
"We have to teach her to groom... We'll put her on a white towel and get a white washcloth and she kind of has picked up on working on spots herself, but we'll help out as well and she'll learn to rub on the white towel and get that water out of her fur."
Sterling says the abandoned pup was rescued after a jogger on the beach in northern California heard her crying.
Right now the sea otter is known as Pup 681, but coming soon - a real name.