REVIEW: Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Exhibit

Since there’s been much discussion of animals here lately, I thought it would be timely to mention that Ted and I paid a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium last weekend. We were in Monterey to celebrate our anniversary, and we decided that while we were there we might as well check out the aquarium.

In addition to their exhibits, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is also renowned for their conservation efforts. But in all honesty, Ted and I were there for the animals. We walked from one tank to another, eyeing each exhibit with glee and awe, reading every informational plaque we could see. We were enthralled by the giant kelp forest, swaying and undulating to its own rhythm. And, of course, there was the aquarium’s new sea otter exhibit.

Sea otters are adorable little animals. Their dense fur helps to repel water while they swim and play, and it is their fur that has led to many sub-species becoming endangered. During what was known as The Great Hunt, human greed for the lucrative furs nearly destroyed sea otter populations all over the world. In fact, after sea otter hunting was banned in 1911, many scientists thought all sea otters would become extinct. Thankfully, a few sea otter populations managed to pull through, and today the still-endangered sea otters seem to be doing much better.

That’s not to say they’re out of the clear, though; oil spills are the largest danger sea otters still face. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Gulf of Alaska was the most infamous, leaking 11 million gallons off crude oil into the sea and killing thousands of sea otters, and causing reproductive problems in the otters for at least ten years after the incident. There are also many smaller oil spills that don’t get as much press, and even the waste created by cleaning these oil tankers somehow finds its way into the ocean, further endangering the otters’ health.

Okay, okay, enough of the doom and gloom. You get the point. Sea otters, good; oil spills, bad. But did I mention how CUTE sea otters are? They’re incredibly playful, like slick waterlogged kitties frolicking about in the water. The exhibit at the aquarium was particularly well-designed, creating many interesting things for the otters to play with. As the otters swam around and climbed in and out of logs, and pushed tiny Frisbees around in the water, Ted and I were as giddy with excitement as any of the five-year-olds at our feet.

The otters were adorable, but even while we were enjoying their playfulness, their plight in nature was always in the back of our minds. This wasn’t the case for everyone present, however; I think some people thought of the otters as being entertainment. This is understandable, especially since the aquarium exhibit was laid out like a semi-circle stage for all of us to see. At one point, while the otters were busy grooming one another, I overheard a woman standing beside me say, “They have this big audience, and all they’re going to do is groom themselves?” Apparently the otter exhibit was some kind of off-Broadway performance, and the otters had taken it as a gig to further their careers, and this lady just wasn’t impressed.

Had she forgotten that these otters were IN CAPTIVITY? It’s not like they were there by choice for her entertainment only. In her mind, she had paid good money to get into the aquarium, and now she wanted a show. Besides, what had sea otters done for HER lately?

Sadly, most people present seemed to have the same feelings. Those otters are there to be cute, for sure, but the greater issues they face are the larger motivation for the aquarium exhibit. This can also be said for the rest of the aquarium’s habitats, full of sea creatures and plants whose ecosystem is threatened by human activity every day. If you’d like to find out what you can do for sea life, click here. You’ll find ways you can reduce trash being dumped into our oceans, and there are printable pocket guides to help you make environmentally responsible seafood choices tailored to your region. You can also make a donation to the aquarium for the sake of their sea otter preservation efforts. Some people might ignore conservation efforts until it’s too late, but I’d like to think there are lots of people who care about what’s happening in our oceans right now. After all, can you imagine a world without sea otters?

If nothing else, think of the entertainment value, people.