The rehabilitation of two new adorable sea otter pups at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has been going swimmingly.
There’s only one thing missing — they need names!
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is asking for the public’s help in naming its two newest otter-ly adorable rescue pups through an online vote.
“Sea otters are named a variety of different ways, but with this kind of vote, we really are able to reach more audiences and people everywhere,” Johnny Ford, the communications manager for the aquarium, told “GMA.”
The orphaned male southern sea otters, currently named Pups 870 and 872, were originally rescued by California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium before arriving at the Chicago-based aquarium in July.
Shedd’s animal care team has carefully created a short list of name options inspired by locations off the coast of California, where the sea pups were found.
People can vote for the following names starting today and can cast their pick through the Shedd Aquarium’s website:
- Cooper – named after Cupertino, California (a town near San Jose)
- Watson – named after the town of Watsonville and Port Watsonville (less than an hour away from where Pup 872 was found)
- Bennett – named after Point Bennett (on San Miguel Island)
- Simon – named after Simonton Cove (on San Miguel Island)
- Obi – short for Obispo (for San Luis Obispo)
The vote coincides with Sea Otter Awareness Week, which runs from Sept. 22 through Sept. 28.
The Chicago-based aquarium hosted a similar naming vote in 2014 for another rescued sea otter pup that made waves online. Luna ended up being the winning name.
“That was the most popular vote we had ever seen. People were so glued in to Luna and her story,” Ford explained.
Luna’s story even captured the attention of famed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, who admitted voting for the sea pup’s name!
“We want people to be excited about otters and be excited about picking a name for these pups, but there are also some very real things they can do to help sea otters out in the wild, as well,” Ford said, such as supporting wildlife protections legislation.
Since being welcomed at the Shedd Aquarium, Pups 870 and 872 have been living behind the scenes at the Regenstein Sea Otter Nursery for the past few months.
A hands-on team has been helping the pups acclimate to their new environment and reach developmental milestones.
The pups will make their official public debut on Sept. 30 — the same day the results of the vote are set to be announced.
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