The miracle of life

The first exhibit they saw was the outdoor half of the harbor seal enclosure. One of the younger seals was entertaining some children by doing backflips and waiving to them. Vicky snapped a couple of quick photos of the seals. She laughed when one appeared to be sticking his tongue out at her.

“The sign says his name is ‘Dumbledore’ but I think he should be named ‘Kevin’ because my little brother does that all the time!” Vicky stated.

The next exhibit was the outdoor portion of the chinstrap penguin exhibit, where Zack was surprised to learn that not all penguins live in Antarctica, as many of the aquarium’s birds were rescued from an oil spill that affected the island of Saint Helena.

“So, are any of the penguins named ‘Napoleon’?” Zack asked one of the staff members that were tossing fish to some of the birds that were rescued from the same island the French dictator was imprisoned on.

“Very good, young man! You deserve a cookie!” the older man said.

“Throw him a fish instead!” yelled Victoria.

At the next exhibit, Zack and Victoria were greeted by the playful behavior of one of Vicky’s favorite animals.

“OTTERS!” she screamed as the little brown mammals swam to and fro across the small pool. One otter had a green ball that he kept pushing around the water.

“Sea otters, to be more specific,” a male staff member informed the two teens.

“I could stay at this one all day!” Vicky said to Zack as she took a picture of the silly creature. “AWW! THOSE TWO ARE HOLDING HANDS!”

“It’s a mother and her pup. They’re holding onto each other while they rest so they don’t get separated,” the man mentioned.

“AWW!” Vicky cried.

While Vicky was watching the otters, Zack was watching her. The blonde was oblivious to his gaze as she snapped photo after photo of the adorable mammals as they played, swam, ate, and slept. Zack was about to say something to her when a pained expression flashed across her face.

“SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THAT ONE! IT LOOKS HURT!” Vicky shouted to the attending staff member.

Vicky watched a single otter sprawled out on a rock. The animal pawed at its hind leg several times while the three concerned humans watched it

“Actually, it’s not hurt at all, but thank you for pointing it out to us, Miss,” the staff member shook her hand and introduced himself as Adam. “You may want to get your camera ready though. If it takes video as well, you’d be better off with that option.”

“Hi Adam, I’m Vicky and this is my friend Zack,” Vicky replied.

“Why does she want to get her camera ready?” Zack asked as his friend did what she was instructed.

“Veterinary department, this is Adam in outdoor exhibits,” he said into his radio.

“This is veterinary, go ahead Adam,” replied someone.

“Be advised that we have a female about to give birth in the sea otter enclosure,” Adam informed both his co-workers and the two guests currently watching. Vicky’s face lit up at the news.

“WOW!” she said as she zoomed in on the expectant otter.

Zack huddled in close to Victoria to watch what was happening. The two teens were in awe as they had front row seats to what they had learned about in biology class. After few minutes of pushing, the female otter bent herself in half and grabbed onto her half-born pup and helped the birthing process along. After one small push and a great big pull, the aquarium had one more animal to take care of. Vicky’s hands clapped over her mouth as she let out with a great, big “AWW!” Zack looked at his friend in time to see a tear roll down her cheek.

“You okay, Vicky?” he asked.

“THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING I’VE EVER SEEN, ZACK! THANK YOU!” the blonde said as she wrapped her arms around Zack.

“For what? You chose to come here. The thanks should go to you!” Zack informed her.

The two teens watched the new mother and her pup for a good while. They witnessed the mother otter tearing the amniotic sack from off her baby. They saw the mother otter bathe and care for the new-born pup. They watched in awe for a good twenty minutes as mother and baby bonded before their eyes. And Vicky cried through it all. And for the second time in two days, Zack held a crying Victoria in his arms. He was relieved to know that this time, she was crying because she was happy.