Orphaned Sea Otter "Lincoln" Is Quickly Making His Way To The Big Leagues

1010 WINS-Lincoln is a baby sea otter who's growing up fast! The lovable animal was rescued by the Oregon Zoo after being abandoned by his mother at less than two-weeks-old on the coast of California in Morro Bay Harbor.

Originally known as "805" — the number assigned to him by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's rescue and care program — the squeaky little pup will now be called "Lincoln," a name selected by his new caregivers at the zoo.

"The name is intended to draw attention to the fact that sea otters were once found off the Oregon coast in places like Lincoln City," says Amy Cutting, overseer of the zoo's marine life area. "There is even a coastal area in Lincoln County known as Otter Rock."

Now that Lincoln is almost three-months-old, he's received his final bottle and is ready for some real food. Lincoln even graduated to a bigger pool where he was more than ready to swim and explore his new surroundings. Visitors to the zoo will be able to get their first look at Lincoln in the next month or two when he joins the zoo's two other adult sea otters, Eddie and Juno.

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Oregon Zoo Foundation executive director Julie Fitzgerald has offered her thanks to longtime zoo member and otter enthusiast Katie Hanson, whose efforts to encourage donations to the zoo has helped cover nearly half of the rescue, transportation, and neonatal costs for Lincoln.

"Katie heard about the impending rescue and rallied her friends to support the whole project. And the gifts are still coming in."

We're certainly excited to see what milestones Lincoln hits next! Keep up with the Oregon Zoo on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter.

-Kayla Jardine/Joe Cingrana