'Uni Sushi' the sea otter shows off her oyster shucking skills

ByNorma Yuriar KGO logo
Friday, May 21, 2021
Sea otter shows off her oyster shucking skills
AH SHUCKS! Orphaned sea otter rescued near Santa Cruz now spends her days cracking oysters, clams and mussels at Oregon Zoo.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Looking for the best way to open an oyster? You may want to take a lesson from an adorable sea otter named "Uni Sushi."

She demonstrated her impressive oyster-shucking skills in a video shared by the Oregon Zoo.

"What's crackin, Sushi," tweeted the zoo.

Uni Sushi moved to her new home in Portland after she was found as a tiny pup stranded on a beach near Santa Cruz in 2018.

She was taken to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's rescue and care program.

"Unable to be paired with a surrogate mom, she was eventually deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a permanent home was found for her at the Oregon Zoo," explained the zoo on its website. "The marine mammal care team named the pup 'Uni Sushi' in honor of the diet of sustainable seafood she and the rest of the sea otter family enjoy."

The southern sea otter is now a master at shucking oysters at the Oregon Zoo.

The video captured by the zoo shows Uni Sushi floating on her back with her head underwater as she smacked an oyster onto a rock before she enjoyed a mussel and a clam.