The Shedd Aquarium has two new furry faces to formally introduce. Chicago, meet Willow and Suri.
After taking in two female otter pups from California, temporarily dubbed Otter 926 and Otter 929 after their intake numbers, the aquarium turned to the public for help naming one of them. And the results are in.
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With more than 9,000 votes cast in an online poll, Otter 929 is now officially named Willow, after the Willow Creek picnic area and beach in Monterey County, California, the aquarium said in a news release. The animal care team named Otter 926 Suri after Big Sur, on California’s mountainous central coast.
Willow and Suri were found separately on the coast of California, each at 2 weeks old with no mother or adult nearby. They were rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and arrived in Chicago on Oct. 11.
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The aquarium announced their new names this week, sharing a video on Facebook of the two otters swimming in a small pool, one pushing a mini basketball with her nose and another holding green dive rings while floating on her back. Willow and Suri are gradually adjusting to their new habitat, the aquarium wrote in the post.
Willow and Suri are staying in the Abbott Oceanarium in Shedd, joining four other otters — Luna, Watson, Cooper and Qilak, a 5-month old male who arrived on Oct. 25 from Alaska after being found too young to be on his own.
Visitors to Shedd can spot Willow and Suri from their dark fur and small size, with each weighing about 30 pounds. The two look pretty similar, but their whiskers are different, the aquarium said. Suri’s are shorter and whiter, while Willow’s are slightly longer and more golden. Suri is also adventurous and active, while Willow tends to be more reserved.
The otters will continue to be raised at the Shedd and be trained on how to dive, forage and carry pups as part of a new program where female otters will serve as surrogate mothers. Once they are mature enough, Willow and Suri will move to one of Shedd’s partner institutions to mother orphaned otter pups.
