Chicagoans vote to name Shedd Aquarium’s newest sea otter

Visitors who stopped by the Shedd Aquarium over the last few days could claim naming rights for Chicago’s newest otter.

Over 50 people had voted in person Wednesday morning, choosing among the names Esa, Jade, Marina and Rey for the 3-year-old female sea otter, now going by Otter 937.

Voting, which began Friday, was set to end Wednesday night. The winning name will be announced Monday on the aquarium’s social media accounts.

“This is a really good conservation program that focuses on boosting wild population,” Andrea Oake, manager for the Shedd’s sea lions and sea otters said. “It’s really fun and rewarding to watch her acclimate to our spaces. … This is really a great connection moment for my team, for Shedd Aquarium, for our guests and to get the opportunity to help name her.”

Visitors at the Abbott Oceanarium were delighted to see and help name the otter, who occasionally bobbed her head to the surface, played with her whiskers and showed off her sleek black fur before diving back into the enclosure to swim around with fellow otter, Watson.

Madison Culbertson, 21, and Liz Brown, 22, were visiting Chicago from Georgia and thought the experience was special.

“I love otters, and they are my favorite,” said Culbertson, who chose the name Rey. “They are like the cats of the sea.”

Currently residing in the otter raft at the Shedd, the unnamed, nonreleasable otter was originally rescued by Monterey Bay Aquarium at 2 weeks old. She was also cared for at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, before arriving May 1 in Chicago.

Caretakers at the aquarium said she will grow and learn new skills like diving, foraging and hunting here. She will be hosted and nurtured until she can return to the West Coast.

The Shedd has similarly nurtured two Southern sea otters named Suri and Willow, who returned to the Aquarium of the Pacific in May to potentially become surrogate mothers for orphaned pups. Otter 937 is expected to follow their lead as part of a larger Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Surrogacy Program in partnership with the Aquarium of the Pacific.