Rosa (sea otter)
Former sea otter at Monterey Bay Aquarium (1999–2024)
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Rosa (c. August 26, 1999 – June 5, 2024) was a sea otter at Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, United States. She was taken by the aquarium after being found stranded on a beach at four weeks old. She was released into the wild in April 2000, but was returned to the aquarium in 2002 after she continued to interact with humans, posing a risk to herself and others. She was a surrogate mother for 15 orphaned otter pups at the aquarium and was the aquarium's oldest resident otter. She was the subject of many charity livestreams in celebration of her birthday, hosted by content creator Douglas Wreden, known online as DougDoug.
Monterey Bay, California, United States
Rosa in 2023 | |
| Other name | Faye |
|---|---|
| Species | Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) |
| Sex | Female |
| Born | c. August 26, 1999 Monterey Bay, California, United States |
| Died | June 5, 2024 (aged 24) Monterey Bay Aquarium, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Euthanasia |
| Notable role | Surrogate sea otter mother and internet figure |
| Residence | Monterey Bay Aquarium |
| Named after | Rosa Martin, character from Tortilla Flat |
As she grew older, Rosa's eyesight started to fail and she contracted a heart condition. She was euthanized on June 5, 2024, because of these health conditions.
Early life
Rosa was born in late August 1999, with August 26 generally observed as her birth date.[‡ 1] On September 26, 1999, she was found stranded between Sunset State Beach and Manresa State Beach in Santa Cruz County, California.[1][2] She was rescued and brought to Monterey Bay Aquarium. At the time, she was approximately four weeks old and weighed five pounds.[1] Sea otter pups can not survive in the wild without their mothers; their fur coats are too buoyant to dive for food, and their mothers feed, train, and comfort them.[3] She was cared for before being released into the wild in April 2000.[1] While in the wild, researchers at Monterey Bay Aquarium and scientists at the University of California studied her behavior, food intake, and body temperature.[4] She was returned to the aquarium two years later because she continued to interact with humans by climbing on swimmers and kayakers, which the United States Fish and Wildlife Service considered to be a risk to herself and humans.[1][2][5]
Some otters at Monterey Bay Aquarium, including Rosa, are named after John Steinbeck characters. Rosa was named after a character from the short novel Tortilla Flat.[6] The aquarium originally named her Faye. However, another otter was named Mae, and Faye was deemed too similar.[7]
Appearance, habits, and care
Rosa was introduced to the sea otter exhibit on June 6, 2002.[8][9] She was characterized by her large figure with soft silver-colored fur and white freckles on her head.[10] She could be seen on the aquarium's live sea otter camera, and after feeding she normally rested on her back on the water's surface at the exhibit's central window. She would usually have her chin tucked into her chest while wagging her tail. However, she would also swim with her head back.[11] Around the time she joined the aquarium, a sea otter recovery program was initiated. She was one of the first sea otters to be in the program,[3] raising 15 orphaned sea otter pups before retiring in 2019; this was the most sea otters fostered by any surrogate mother at the aquarium.[10][7] However, she did not have any biological pups of her own.[3] Her last foster otter pups were released into the wild in October 2019.[12] Selka, one otter Rosa raised, stayed at the aquarium and participated in the recovery program.[1][9]
Late in her life, Rosa was fatigued by a heart condition and limited eyesight. She was groomed regularly by a health monitoring team who performed training sessions that accommodated Rosa's limits. Rosa received a physical checkup three times a year that included radiographs, blood tests, and dental care. The aquarium staff built a ramp in 2013 to anticipate her developing arthritis.[‡ 2] Her diet was adjusted based on her weight which was regularly checked.[‡ 3]: 5:04 Rosa, like other sea otters at the aquarium, was taught behaviors like getting on weight scales,[‡ 3]: 15:41 allowing the use of eye drops,[‡ 4] sticking her paws up, and opening her mouth for inspection.[‡ 3]: 18:30
Melanie Oerter, the curator of marine mammals at Monterey Bay Aquarium, described Rosa as "one of [their] most playful sea otters, and even at 24 years old, she would still be seen frolicking and wrestling with the younger otters when she instigated it".[13] Oerter described Rosa as calm and patient, but defiant, saying that "[s]he would often just look at us or swim away".[13] Aquarium staff members described Rosa's parenting style as "gentle, unflustered, [and] chill".[3]
Birthday
| External video | |
|---|---|
 I threw a terrible birthday party for a sea otter, Wreden's first YouTube video about Rosa's birthday |
Streamer and YouTuber Douglas Wreden, known online as DougDoug, began hosting annual charity livestreams celebrating Rosa's birthday.[5][14] During a livestream in 2019, he found Monterey Bay Aquarium's live sea otter camera.[15] After he heard one of the announcers say that Rosa was the oldest otter at the aquarium, he contacted the aquarium and asked when Rosa's birthday was. Once they messaged her birthdate back, he threw an on-the-spot birthday livestream, with the proceeds of the stream going to Monterey Bay Aquarium.[15][‡ 5] Many streams featured aquatic-themed video game challenges,[15][‡ 6] with some featuring an art contest where his community created fan art dedicated to Rosa. These streams contributed to Rosa's popularity.[‡ 6]
Wreden and his community raised $320 in 2019; $2,670 in 2020; $14,100 in 2021;[‡ 7] $104,000 in 2022;[15] $300,000 in 2023;[5] $620,000 in 2024;[16] and $565,800 in 2025.[‡ 8]
In late 2025, in a comment under one of his videos, Wreden said he would not host a charity stream in 2026, stating that "these last few years fundraisers have been a huge amount of work". He stated, however, that he would like to do something for Rosa, but in a different format than the livestreams.[‡ 9]
Death
Rosa was euthanized on June 5, 2024 due to age-related health conditions.[2] She was the oldest sea otter at Monterey Bay Aquarium at 24 years old.[11] Rosa was given a profile in The New York Times Magazine's The Lives They Lived annual commemoration for major figures who died in 2024.[3]
See also
- Opal (sea otter) – another sea otter at Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Sea otter conservation