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Rosa
The Sea Otter

Birthday:
26th August 1999
Obit:
5th June 2024 (aged 24)
Address:
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey
CA 93940
USA

Rosa's the oldest sea otter at Monterey Bay Aquarium. She was found stranded between Sunset and Manresa State Beaches in southern Santa Cruz County in September 1999, only about four weeks old and weighing just over five pounds.In April 2000, she was released back to the wild where she spent nearly two years until she began interacting with divers and climbing onto kayaks. Because of the potential risks to herself and people, federal wildlife officials declared her non-releasable.
Rosa joined the sea otter exhibit in June 2002. During her years at the Aquarium, she's put her maternal instincts to work — she's reared more pups than any other active surrogate mother on exhibit. She's one of our larger otters, and you can also identify her by the silvered-colored fur on her head and white freckles. After a feeding, you can often see her resting on the water's surface at the center window. She gets her name from a character in John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat — the first of the author's novels set on Cannery Row.


Doug & Rosa




2019
Rosa's 20th Birthday
Raised $320.18

2020
Rosa's 21st Birthday

Raised $2,676.31
Total Raised $ 2,996.49

2023
Rosa's 24th Birthday

Raised $302,014.21
Total Raised $ 423,511.51


2024
Rosa's 25th Birthday

In honor of our beloved Rosa
† 5th June 2024

Raised $625,365.68
Total Raised $ 1,048,877.19

2025
Rosa's 26th Birthday
Let us raft together for Rosa
and embrace Rosa's raft as well
Opal, Ivy, Ruby, Selka
and all the pups she raised
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