The Million Dollar Otter of Wild Kingdom fame has a new pup, born around Jan 15. Here the pup is on the back of a boat, crying for mom and then they cuddle and groom.
I have had a lot of questions about this otter’s nose and why she is called the Million Dollar Otter or Million Dollar Mom.
In 2011 there was a segment on Wild Kingdom that told the story of a southern sea otter that raised her pups on the dock in Monterey, CA. They called it “Million Dollar Otters” because they thought anyone with a boat in the Monterey marina must be a millionaire.
The show started filming three days after the otter gave birth on the dock and showed mom caring for her pup and teaching the things he would need to know to survive. Pups usually stay with their mothers for about six months, but this pair was separated several weeks too early when a male otter decided it was time to mate.
Male otters often bite the females on the nose during mating and most females have some degree of scarring by the time they have had a few pups. This male was especially aggressive and basically bit her nose off. She was badly injured and was picked up by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They were not sure she would survive, but after an extended period of care she was released. Shortly thereafter a male was once again interested in mating, but this one turned out to be very gentle and did not bite her at all.
The man who owned the boat near where she had given birth had been looking for the pup since he learned what had happened. While most otters break their food open on rocks, this mom had taught the method she preferred – which was to bang the mussels and crabs on the hulls of the boats. One day he heard a noise and found the young otter doing what mom had taught him.
I was lucky to have been able to watch the Million Dollar Mom raise her next several pups before she died of old age a few years ago. She felt safe and was not frightened by people because she gave birth on a dock that was mostly closed to the public. She was a wonderful mom and I was grateful she shared her babies with me.