Oldest sea otter dies at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Rosa loved ‘frolicking and wrestling’

A 24-year-old sea otter who helped raise 15 rescued pups at the Monterey Bay Aquarium has died, the California aquarium said.

Rosa, the oldest sea otter at the aquarium, suffered from several medical conditions as a result of her age, the aquarium said in a June 5 news release.

“We made the decision to humanely euthanize Rosa, and she passed away peacefully, surrounded by her caretakers,” said staff veterinarian Dr. Ri Chang in the release.

Rosa came to the aquarium in 2002 after reports of her climbing on kayaks and interacting with scuba divers in Monterey Bay following a previous rescue in 1999, the aquarium said.

Millions of visitors saw Rosa in the aquarium’s sea otter exhibit over the years.

“Rosa was one of our most playful sea otters, and even at 24 years old, she would be seen frolicking and wrestling with the younger otters,” Melanie Oerter, curator of marine mammals, said in the release.

“Rosa was usually found sleeping against the window while on exhibit with her chin tucked tight into her chest and her tail swishing back and forth,” Oerter said.

She also raised 15 stranded sea otter pups, some of which returned to the wild and had pups of their own, the aquarium said.

Selka, one of the pups she helped raise, remains at the aquarium and now serves as a surrogate mom herself to stranded pups.

Rosa took her name from a character in John Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat” after her original name, Faye, caused confusion with another otter named Mae.

“Rosa was generally calm and patient with our staff, but she could also be extremely stubborn at times. If she did not want to do something, it would be really difficult to convince her,” Oerter said in the release.

“The ‘grand dame’ would just walk away from us and jump back into the water,” she said. “We will certainly miss that about her.”

Monterey is about a 120-mile drive south from San Francisco.

This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Oldest sea otter dies at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Rosa loved ‘frolicking and wrestling’."