Spectators at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Central California were lucky enough to witness an "otterly" incredible miracle of life: a wild sea otter mother that traveled to the aquarium had given birth to a pup on Satuday.
The wild sea otter was already in labor when she arrived. Aquarium employees said she was napping, grooming and pacing, like a mother-to-be in a hospital ward.
A few hours later, the sea otter mom pulled up onto a rock, rolled around a bit, and then stretched her paws to deliver the pup by her own. Within seconds, the sea otter mom licked her slimy newborn.
Sea otters, which can give birth at sea or on land, groom their pup right away to help it stay warm, buoyant and keep its blood flowing.
This marks the second pregnant sea otter to swim and give birth inside the aquarium's Great Tide Pool in just three months, officials said.
Aquarium staff and visitors watched in "respectful quiet" and let out a soft gasp at the amazing event. The sea otter mom's delivery was captured in a Periscope video by aquarium employees. They warn that the video is pretty graphic, although it is not shocking.
Marine mammal experts say the stormy seas in Monterey Bay must have prompted the sea otter mom to find shelter and comfort at the aquarium. Another storm during the drought has been traveling through the area.
On Sunday, the pup and the sea otter mother were still in the Great Tide Pool. Hundreds of visitors came to quietly watch both of them.
One employee from the Monterey Bay Aquarium recalled the experience on the group's Instagram account.
"It was a surreal moment that still hasn't registered," the writer of the Instagram post said.
Years ago, sea otters were at the brink of extinction because of fur traders. They are listed as endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is involved in conservation and rescue efforts to save the fuzzy marine animals.
According to a Tumblr post, the aquarium's sea otter researchers have been watching the animals for years and have never seen a birth close up like the one on Saturday.
"We're amazed and awed to have had a chance to witness this Monterey Bay conservation success story first hand in our own backyard," the post said.
Seeing the birth of sea otters was a sign that the animals were recovering from their previous state, the aquarium said. Now, there is a stable sea otter population of 3,000 in Central California.
Meanwhile, because the sea otter mom and her pup are not part of the aquarium's Sea Otter Program, they will head back to the wild soon to search for food.
Watch below as the sea otter mom gives birth to her pup.
