An aquarium in California has been slammed by Twitter users for calling one of its otters 'an absolute unit'.

Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California posted a picture of one of its most famous otters, named Abby, on Tuesday - but quickly drew criticism after being accused of 'fat shaming' the animal.

The tweet read: 'Abby is a thicc girl What an absolute unit She c h o n k Look at the size of this lady OH LAWD SHE COMIN Another Internetism !'

The sea otter, named Abby (pictured), from Monterey Bay Aquarium became an instant talking point after the tweet on Tuesday

Monterey Bay Aquarium posted un unflattering picture of the otter alongside a contentious caption

But soon after, several sensitive internet users launched a deluge of criticism against the aquarium.

'This is the most pathetic tweet imaginable. Grow a spine,' one user wrote.

While another said: 'Please delete this tweet. It is offensive.'

Even YouTube star Count Dankula was keen to have his say, retweeting the aquarium's post with the caption: 'Having to apologize for calling an otter fat is peak 2018.'

The aquarium later posted that it had experienced a 'learning moment' from the reaction to the tweet and apologized for any offence caused.

The aquarium was soon slammed by Twitter users with some labelling the tweet 'offensive'

'Hey everyone. It has come to our attention that some of the references in this tweet are problematic and insensitive. We're posting here in the thread so that people who have engaged with this tweet will join us in our learning moment,' a statement posted on Twitter read.

'If our tweet alienated you, please know that we are deeply sorry, and that we offer our sincerest apologies. If you follow our feed, we often reference popular memes to talk about the ocean. In this case, the memes used had connotations we were unaware of until now.

'In particular, several terms referenced originated from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and specifically reference Black women's bodies. Using them in a sea otter meme without that background makes insinuations we never intended. We need to do better.

'Our mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean, and we're thankful for your support as we try to advance that mission on social media. We're also thankful for those of you out there pointing out our blindspots and how we can improve. Thanks everyone.