Long Beach aquarium otter breaks record in celebrating 22nd birthday

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A local sea otter is celebrating his birthday by breaking a record.

At age 22, Charlie is the oldest southern sea otter in an aquarium or zoo.

That's nearly double the average life span of a wild sea otter.

Charlie has lived at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach ever since it opened - after being orphaned as a pup during the El Niño storms of 1997.

Experts say he would not have survived in the wild on his own.