A rescued sea otter found covered in oil on a Santa Cruz beach in 2009 has a tiny, adorable pup after giving birth this month.
The California Department of Fish and Game said the sea otter, named Olive the Oiled Otter, was the first otter in California to survive an oil spill and give birth.?
"Olive appears to be an attentive mother, frequently grooming, nursing and carrying her pup," DFG researchers said.
Last Friday, Olive was spotted swimming off Seacliff State Beach in Aptos with her fuzzy pup napping on her belly.
?In recent months, she?s been known to frequent a surf spot in Capitola known to locals as 'The Hook,'" said Laird Henkel, manager of Santa Cruz-based Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center.?
Olive became so popular among surfers, marine wildlife enthusiasts, and researchers, that she even has her own Facebook page?with 2,190 "likes."
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Olive was found covered in oil and near death on a Santa Cruz beach in April 2009.?Experts believe the oil that coated Olive came from natural seepage off Monterey's coast.?
Scientists say oil is especially harmful to animals with thick coats like sea otters. When it's damaged by oil, the skin is exposed to cold water, which can lead to hypothermia and death because otters don't have a layer of blubber like other marine mammals.
After Olive was bathed in olive oil - hence her name - and fed by veterinarians, she was outfitted with a microchip and transmitter and released back into the wild. Scientists tracked and studied her as she swam around the Monterey Bay.
When Olive was brought in for a checkup in Santa Cruz this summer, scientists discovered she was pregnant.
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