Charlie
Charlie was the name of a sea otter who lived at the Aquarium of the Pacific from 1997 until his death on April 22, 2019 at the age of 22. He was the oldest living captive sea otter and was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Life
Early life
Charlie was born in 1997. He was orphaned in the same year during the El Niño storms. After spending time in a sea otter rescue program, it was determined he could not survive on his own and was moved into the Aquarium of the Pacific before it was opened to the public in 1998.
Life in the aquarium
During his time at the aquarium, Charlie not only carried out the role of animal ambassador, but contributed to scientific studies on several occasions. As well as being the first otter in the world to give a voluntary blood sample without sedation, he participated in a study on sound perception in sea otters at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Lab from 2011 to 2013.
Death
Charlie passed away from old age on April 22, 2019. His death was announced publicly by the aquarium and a memorial celebration was held on April 28.