But Oregon Zoo officials point out Eddie almost didn’t make it to this idyllic environment, having nearly perished during his youth along the wild Pacific Coast.

Back in 1998, when he was just four weeks old, Eddie was abandoned by his mother on a California beach. When left to fend for themselves young sea otters rarely survive -- a cruel and common fact of nature along the coast.

But as fate would have it, Eddie was rescued and taken to Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter Research and Conservation program. Officials at the aquarium, about 60 miles south of San Francisco, say they’ve saved more than 700 sea otters over the past 30 years. A significant number of those otters are pups that have become separated from or have been abandoned by their mothers.

The hope was to rehabilitate Eddie and release him back into the wild. But after a while, it was determined he was non-releasable, meaning he wouldn’t be able to survive on his own.

So, Eddie was “loaned” to the Oregon Zoo in 2000, where he’s lived happily ever since.



