Rosa (sea otter)
Rosa (August 1999 – June 5, 2024) was a female sea otter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She was known for being the aquarium's oldest resident otter, and as a surrogate mother for 15 abandoned otters at the aquarium.
Early life[edit]
Rosa was born in late August 1999. She was found stranded on a beach in Santa Cruz County, California, when she was four weeks old and was brought to the aquarium. Rosa weighed five pounds at the time.[1][2][3] She was released into the wild at the age of two, but had to be returned to the aquarium two years later, because she continued to interact with humans by jumping on swimmers and kayakers, which was a risk to herself and humans.[1][2][4]
Name origin[edit]
Some of the otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, including Rosa, are named after John Steinbeck characters. Rosa's name originates from the short novel Tortilla Flat.[1] In a livestream celebrating her 24th birthday,[9] it was stated that her original name was Faye, but was changed to Rosa, as it was deemed too similar to another otter's name at the time.[10]
Death[edit]
Rosa died on June 5, 2024, having been euthanized due to age-related health conditions.[16] At the time of her death, she was the oldest sea otter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium at 24 years 9 months.[10] She was older than the oldest known male sea otter in the United States, Adaa, who lived to be 22 years 8 months,[17] but not older than the oldest known female otter, Etika, who lived to be approximately 28 years old.[18]