PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – There is a new baby at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and the animal comes with quite the story of survival.

A newborn sea otter has been through a lot in just nine weeks of life.

“He was very, very lucky. He is extremely strong, strong health wise and willed,” Curator of Aquatic Life Dwayne Biggs said.

The little pup survived all the odds.

He was rescued by some locals in Alaska after being stranded in a frozen bay. He was the only animal still alive out of the group.

“The nature of the animal, the fact that he is very feisty is probably why he survived down on the ice. His nature, his attitude is actually an extremely good thing,” Dr. Barbara Baker said.

The animal was taken to the Alaska Sea Life Center. From there, he was placed on a Fed Ex express plane for the trip to Pittsburgh.

He has been here for less than a week and is doing well.

He is being hand and bottle fed and is already up to about 17 pounds.

“They are amazing creatures. They are extremely intelligent as well. This guy is already just surprising us how quickly he is learning. He looks and says, ‘okay, I’m ready to do the next thing, let’s do it.’ So, yeah, they are very neat animals,” Biggs said.

He doesn’t have a name just yet and the zoo may hold a naming contest.

Visitors will be able to check him out, in a waterside nursery beginning on Friday.

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