Meet Suri and Willow: Monterey Bay Aquarium’s newest sea otters

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s new southern sea otters, Suri and Willow, make their public debut today. Aquarium guests can now see them alongside raftmates Ivy, Opal, and Selka in the Sea Otter Exhibit. Suri and Willow may also be spotted on the Aquarium’s Sea Otter Cam for those unable to visit in person.

The name Suri is derived from Big Sur, an iconic stretch of California coastline. Willow is named after Willow Creek Picnic Area and Beach in Monterey, near where she was rescued. 

Aquarium staff describes Suri’s personality as bold, independent, and explorative, and Willow’s as social, industrious, and resourceful. 

Both southern sea otters come to Monterey Bay Aquarium from Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.

Suri was rescued as a four-week-old dependent pup at Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove, California, in January 2022. Willow was found on Carmel State Beach as a six-week-old pup in March 2022. Both were admitted into the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s rehabilitation program.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deemed Suri and Willow unreleasable, and both went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, for care until more permanent placement could be found.

Suri and Willow went to AZA-accredited Shedd Aquarium in October 2022 to be ambassadors for southern sea otters and learn cooperative care behaviors such as voluntarily walking onto a scale or going into a kennel. These behaviors help animal care staff prepare otters for exams and keep the otters healthy.  The pair transferred back to the Aquarium of the Pacific in April 2025 to hone their foraging, tool use, social, and maternal behaviors. Now, the otters return to Monterey Bay Aquarium as excellent candidates for the Sea Otter Surrogacy Program. 

Aquarium staff expect the pair to move in and out of the exhibit area as they adjust to their new home, and may not always be visible. The live broadcast from the Sea Otter Exhibit will pause intermittently for staff to check in with Suri and Willow to make sure they’re comfortable in their new surroundings.

In addition to serving as species ambassadors at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Exhibit and livecam, Suri and Willow can help other orphaned pups in the future. Resident sea otters may act as adoptive mothers or companions to stranded young pups, teaching them the skills they will need to survive in the wild, such as grooming and foraging.

The Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program works to help the threatened species recover and return to its historical range along the California coast. This work is crucial because sea otters are an important part of a healthy marine habitat, helping to restore wetlands and protect kelp forests. Most recently, the Aquarium built the Sea Otter Conservation Center. The new behind-the-scenes facility expands the on-site capacity of the program, enabling it to rescue and rehabilitate more sea otters. Generous gifts from several individual donors and from the State of California’s Ocean Protection Council funded construction of the Center.

About Monterey Bay Aquarium

With a mission to inspire conservation of the ocean, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most admired aquarium in the United States, a leader in science education, and a voice for ocean conservation through comprehensive programs in marine science and public policy. Everything we do works in concert to protect the future of our blue planet. More information at MontereyBayAquarium.org.