LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The oldest southern sea otter held by a zoo or aquarium died in California earlier this week, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The otter named Charlie died Monday at the age of 22, said the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Los Angeles.
Charlie celebrated his 22nd birthday on March 2 by eating colorful seafood cupcakes. He is the second sea otter on record to reach that age. His fellow otter Brook, 21, died on Jan. 29 after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Charlie was found in 1997 stranded in Northern California, thought to be less than a day old. He is thought to have been orphaned because of the significant storms brought on by El Nino the year he was born, said the report.
Charlie was the first otter in the world to give a voluntary blood sample without sedation, which was significant because when otters are sedated to get blood drawn, it changes the animal's blood chemistry.
The otter also contributed to a scientific experiment that helped researchers learn how well otters could hear. The study, through University of California Santa Cruz's Long Marine Lab, helped inform decisions made by government agencies regarding ocean noise, according to the report.
