Happy Sea Otter Awareness Week!
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago's Shedd Aquarium joins other aquariums around the country to bring attention to sea otters and the challenges they face.
The Shedd Aquarium's response team has provided a "forever home" to at least three rescued sea otters as well as rehabilitating countless others.
To commemorate Sea Otter Awareness Week, workers at the aquarium put together "a special enrichment session" for its sea otters.
"At Shedd, training and enrichment are a crucial aspect of animal care," said Kayley Ciocci of the aquarium. "Training provides the animals with mental stimulation, it gives them physical exercise and, perhaps most important, it teaches them to cooperate in their own health care."
The Shedd's resident otters Yaku, Kiana, Luna and Ellie can be seen by the public at the aquarium's Abbott Oceanarium. Illinois residents can visit the Shedd Aquarium for free during Illinois Resident Free Days now through September 30.
