LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The Aquarium of the Pacific introduced the public to its newest resident: Millie.
"Millie is a 4-year-old female southern sea otter that was rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and released back into the wild," said Vice President of Animal Husbandry at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Dr. Sandy Trautwein. "Unfortunately, she was very friendly with kayakers and other folks, so she was brought back into the program and deemed non-releasable."
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Millie will be instrumental in the Aquarium of the Pacific's new sea otter surrogacy program in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
"The aquarium will now be building a new holding facility and rescue facility so we can bring in orphaned sea otter pups and rehab them for release back into the wild," said Dr. Trautwein.
Dr. Trautwein said Millie birthed a sea otter pup at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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"Because of her experience, she'll make an excellent surrogate mother," said Dr. Trautwein.
The Aquarium of the Pacific will begin construction of its new facility over the next few months and expect to receive orphaned sea otter pups starting this fall.