Zoo, partners celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week

New art from Mike Bennett features playful marine mammals in a kelp forest habitat

You otter not miss this! The Oregon Zoo is celebrating Sea Otter Awareness Week next week, with activities aimed at showcasing these playful marine mammals and highlighting their critical role in the North Pacific ecosystem, and a new installation by Portland artist Mike Bennett.

Guests can stop by the Oregon Zoo marine life area Sept. 20-26, from 10:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., for otter-themed games and a chance to chat with zoo staff and volunteers. And on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Elakha Alliance conservationists will be on hand to discuss current efforts to reintroduce sea otters in Oregon.

"We always look forward to Sea Otter Awareness Week at the zoo," said Chanel Hason, the Elakha Alliance's director of outreach and community relations. "We get to connect with so many new people about the important role sea otters play in the ecosystem."

A new art installation in Steller Cove was inspired by that role as well. Depicting a bright kelp forest and 16 frisky cartoon sea otters, artist Mike Bennett worked with Elakha Alliance and zoo staff to highlight this keystone species.

"We wanted to show sea otters in their natural habitat, which is a kelp forest," Bennett said. "We can't wait for zoo visitors to come see the art, take photos with the otters and learn more about them."

Keeper talks take place at 12:45 p.m. each day, and an otter "play session" at 2:30 p.m. gives folks a chance to watch the zoo's three resident sea otters - Juno, Lincoln and Uni Sushi - scarf down sustainable-seafood treats and participate in training sessions.

Though once abundant along the Oregon Coast, sea otters were hunted to extinction here in the early 1900s and have not established permanent residence in the state for more than a century. They are considered a keystone species in the Pacific Coast marine ecosystem, promoting healthy kelp forests, which in turn support thousands of organisms from gray whales to salmon.

"Sea otters are famously cute and charismatic, but they're also incredibly important to the health of our marine ecosystems," senior marine life keeper Nicole Nicassio-Hiskey said. "Bringing them back to our coast would benefit all Oregonians, and we're excited for our community to learn how they can help this historic effort become a reality."

All the Oregon Zoo's resident sea otters are rescue animals, orphaned as tiny pups off the coast of California. Lacking the skills to survive on their own, they were first brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's rescue program but were deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To learn more about the Oregon Zoo's sea otters and how to help protect sea otters in the wild, visit oregonzoo.org/animals/sea-otter. For more information on Sea Otter Awareness Week, visit defenders.org/sea-otter-awareness-week.