A female North American river otter pup, appropriately named Baby Girl Otter, can now be seen splashing around in a special rehabilitation display tank at the Riverhead aquarium.

The then-4-month-old otter was brought to the aquarium last June after she was found in a backyard in Croton Falls, N.Y.

"It had been chased up on a deck of a home by the family's dog," said Ann Yaiullo, the aquarium's director of marine training. Weighing only four pounds, the otter was taken to a local animal hospital, where it became clear that she needed long-term care and rehabilitation.

After receiving vitamin injections and antibiotics, the pup was transferred to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation facility, which is housed at the aquarium. There she was fed a steady diet of trout, clams, herring, shrimp and fruits and vegetables.

Ms. Yaiullo, whose husband, Joseph, is the aquarium's curator, said she has brought in her children's old toys, such as floating pieces of plastic slides and bins, for the otter to play with. She described Baby Girl Otter as playful, inquisitive and, above all else, adorable. The pup goes crazy over plastic balls, she said.

Now eight months after Baby Girl Otter's arrival in Riverhead, handlers say she is doing well. They say she eats two to three pounds of food a day and weighs 15 pounds.

Although Baby Girl Otter is healthy, biologists say it is too dangerous to release her into the wild. The care she has received at the aquarium has made her too dependent on humans to fend for herself, Ms. Yaiullo said.

Instead, she will remain at the aquarium for now.

Experts estimate otters can live about 20 years in captivity, or about twice as long as in the wild. Ms. Yaiullo said Baby Girl Otter had a "clean gene pool," which makes her an attractive candidate to mate with otters at other aquariums.

Atlantis Marine World is already home to another otter exhibit, Otter Falls, which features two North American river otters name PB and J. But Baby Girl Otter cannot be integrated with PB and J, the experts said, as adult otters can be territorial.

vchinese@timesreview.com

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