Otterly adorable new arrivals at Birmingham Sea Life Centre
The UK’s first and only pair of sea otters have officially been introduced as new residents at Birmingham Sea Life Centre.
The new residents, named Ozzy and Ola, arrived in to the country last month following a 5,000 mile journey from their former holding in Seward, Alaska.
They have been settling in to their new, state-of-the-art and purpose built Marine Mammal Rescue Facility in Birmingham. Their residency is one of just three in the whole of Europe and of 17 collectives globally.
At the end of last year, centre bosses revealed that following a two-and-a-half-year gruelling guardianship application, the financing of care and major investment in a brand-new purpose-built facility over in the United Kingdom to meet strict animal welfare requirements, the United States Fishing and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had finally granted the attraction's a permit to rehome a pair of un-releasable sea otters.
Jonny Rudd, Curator at the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham said: “This is such an incredibly exciting time for us. It’s been a pioneering project for the country, taking global efforts and a collective vision with our conservation partners to protect the world’s oceans and the incredible marine life which lives within.
“Sadly, an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality can have detrimental consequences to our planet, but this is now our opportunity to open up the reality of a world which feels very far removed from our own. Ozzy and Ola’s residency is a landmark moment for the country and gives us a sense of connection to nature and wildlife from across the globe, highlighting the unconscious impact we’re having so we can start to make small differences.
“It’s a guardianship commitment with full 360 vision, meaning that monies raised through the Sea Otters residency in Birmingham will have a direct and positive impact to environmental efforts on the ground in Alaska through our partners, SEA LIFE Trust.”
Once on the verge of extinction after being hunted for their thick, rich pelt in the 1800s, sea otters remain a seriously threatened species being IUCN listed as endangered in some region.
