The Story of Rosa

Rescue Pup

1999 — 2002

Rosa was found as an orphaned pup, only around 4 weeks old, stranded on a Santa Cruz County beach in September 1999. She was raised at the Aquarium for 7 months before being released back into the wild in April 2000. But 2 years later she returned to the aquarium after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service deemed she was becoming too friendly with humans, which posed a risk to herself and other people. Since then, she has remained at the aquarium as part of MBA's Sea Otter Program.

Surrogate Mother

2003 — 2018

Rosa soon became part of MBA's surrogacy program, which pairs orphaned or lost sea otter pups with one of the aquarium's resident moms. Rosa was such a good mom that she eventually became MBA's most experienced surrogate mother, raising 15 pups to adulthood, many of whom have gone on to raise pups of their own in the wild. She retired from the program in 2018.

Queen of MBA

2019 — 2024

Doug and his community have raised an unbelievable 1 million dollars in total for Rosa and the Monterey Bay Aquarium since 2019, making her the world's richest and cutest geriatric otter. We don't know what she did with all of that money, but there has been a suspicious shortage of clams since 2019. Her adorableness and remarkable achievements as a surrogate mother have inspired waves of donations from fans all around the world, including amazing art pieces created by the DougDoug community on her birthday each year.

Rosa's Legacy

Celebrating Rosa's Life

Sadly, after showing worrying signs of age-related health problems that were compromising her quality of life, Monterey Bay Aquarium made the announcement that Rosa had passed away peacefully on June 5, 2024, surrounded by her caretakers. She was 24 years old, making her the second-oldest known sea otter to have ever lived. But her memory will be cherished for years to come by the staff at Monterey Bay Aquarium who cared for her all these long years, and by the DougDoug community who came to adore her as their queen.