Otter pup at Marine Mammal Center needs a name

SAUSALITO, Calif. (BCN) - If you're good with words and love animals, you otter help Sausalito's Marine Mammal Center find a name for one of its patients - a southern sea otter pup.

Orphaned and starving, the pup was stranded in Monterey in February at just a few months of age. She had been exposed to the biotoxin demonic acid, which can damage the heart and brain, according to experts from the center.

After four months of intensive rehabilitation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, she recovered enough to move to the Marine Mammal Center, where she has two otter roommates.

Otter lovers can submit their suggestions for names at the Marine Mammal Center and also watch the pup cavort via a live cam. Also, names can be submitted via the center's Instagram, Twitter or Facebook accounts, where photos of the unnamed pup can be seen.

Sea otters are social animals, and the center has matched the unnamed otter up with two others who are recovering there.

"Langley" came to the center from San Luis Obispo County when her mother died after apparently being bitten by a shark. The third otter, Pip, has toxoplasmosis, a potentially lethal condition, and is also in rehabilitation.