This baby otter is being cared for at a rescue center after it became separated from its mother and was washed up on the shore.

The sea otter pup was discovered alone on a beach in Monterey, California, and was taken to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Program.

Professional wildlife photographer, Sebastian Kennerknecht, captured the journey a rescued otter goes through until it can be released back into the wild.

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This baby otter is being cared for at a rescue center in California after it became separated from its mother and was washed up on the shore

The sea otter pup was discovered alone on a beach in Monterey, California, and was taken to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Program

The 29-year-old from Berkeley, California said: 'The otter pup was found stranded on a beach, with the mother nowhere to be seen.

'Without her, the pup cannot survive by itself. It needed to be brought to the Sea Otter Program to have any chance of survival.'

The images show Karl Mayer, the animal care coordinator for the aquarium, bathing the two-week-old male otter after it was brought in.

Mr Kennerknecht said: 'He wears a disguise to keep the pup from associating humans with the care it received.

'This ensures that the pup won't try to seek help or try to get food from humans once it is released as an adult at the end of the rescue process.

'The pup is placed in a tank to get used to the feeling of water. It is placed in this specific tank since its very secluded, quiet, and dark, giving the pup a chance to calm down after the stress of being separated from its mother and from the rescue.

The Sea Otter is wrapped in fake kelp while floating in holding tank. In the wild otters wrap themselves in kelp to stop them being swept away

A male sea otter being released by Karl Mayer in Monterey Bay

'He is then wrapped in fake kelp like that found in the Monterey Bay. The fake kelp is placed around the otter pup to start teaching the pup to wrap itself in it to keep from floating away.

'This is crucial otter behaviour in the wild, as the waves could sweep the otter away, which is probably what happened when the pup was separated from its mother.

'The pup is then taken out of the tank and Karl has given the brush to it to play with while he dries it.

'After drying it, Karl will brush it. This is incredibly important since sea otters don't have any blubber to keep them warm.

'Instead they have the thickest fur out of any mammal, but to make sure that the fur keeps them warm they need to groom it, or have it be groomed, which is something the mother normally does at this age of the pup.'

Otters taken to the aquarium are not given names to stop the staff from getting too attached to them. If the otters and staff bonded it would make the process of releasing them into the wild more difficult.

Another otter, an adult male, is seen being released by Karl into the wild at Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay after spending 11 and a half months at the aquarium.

Mr Kennerknecht said: 'Getting to photograph the Sea Otter Program is an incredible experience and seeing the dedicated people care for these animals is inspiring.

'The first thought that come to mind when I saw the pup was 'can I keep it', after which I quickly thought about how sad it was that it had been separated from its mother.