Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Webcam – Mishka, Sekiu and Ruby

The Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Webcam looks down into one of the sea otter habitats on Pier 60, on the Elliott Bay waterfront in downtown Seattle, Washington. Three female otters live here, Mishka, Sekiu and Ruby. The camera frames a pool of clear green water ringed by rockwork, with a dark boulder on the left, a smaller rock out in the water and plants spilling over the top left corner. The otters come and go, spending time in this pool and then moving out of view to another part of the habitat, so an empty pool rarely means the stream has stopped. Every so often a northern fur seal shows up instead. The best time to tune in is the regular feeding at 4:45 p.m. Pacific time.

About the Seattle Aquarium Sea Otters

The Seattle Aquarium opened on May 20, 1977, on piers 59, 60 and 61 of the central waterfront, funded through the Forward Thrust bond issue that voters approved in 1968. Sea otters have been part of its story from the first day. Etika, an otter born in Prince William Sound in Alaska, lived here from the opening, and in 1979 she gave birth to Tichuk, the first sea otter conceived, born and raised to maturity in captivity. Sekiu carries that history on. Born at the aquarium on January 14, 2012, to Aniak and Adaa, she was the 11th pup successfully born here.

Each of the current residents arrived by a different route. Mishka (MEESH-kah) came in January 2015 after being caught in a fishing net as a young pup, then rescued and rehabilitated by the Alaska SeaLife Center and judged non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sekiu (SEE-cue) spent 2017 to 2021 at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma as a companion for its only female otter at the time, and came home in December 2021. Ruby is the newest, and the aquarium’s first southern sea otter. She was found stranded as a newborn pup in September 2015, weighing just 0.86 kilograms (1.9 pounds), was rehabilitated by Monterey Bay Aquarium and moved to Seattle on November 20, 2025. To tell them apart, Mishka has the darker face, Sekiu the lighter one, and Ruby is the smallest of the three.

The fur seals have an explanation too. The aquarium trains its marine mammals to move from one habitat to another so keepers can clean each space safely, which is why a northern fur seal sometimes appears in an otter pool. Gates and doors keep the species apart even when they look as if they share the water. Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal and spend about 15 percent of each day grooming it. Hundreds of thousands once lived in the wild, but fewer than 2,000 remained by the early 1900s.

Weather and Climate in Seattle

Seattle has cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers, softened by the Pacific. January averages a high of 8.9 C (48 F) and a low of 3.2 C (38 F). July and August highs sit around 25 C (77 F), with nights near 14 C (57 F). The city gets about 999 millimeters (39.3 inches) of precipitation a year, roughly half of it in November, December and January, while July and August together see less than 41 millimeters (1.6 inches). Snow is rare, about 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) in an average year, and the record high is 42 C (108 F), set on June 28, 2021.

The weather shows up plainly in the pool, which appears to be open to the sky. On clear mornings bright patches of sunlight ripple across its floor, and July brings about 15.5 hours of daylight and around 65 percent of the possible sunshine. Winter is another picture. Seattle is cloudy on about 201 days a year, and January gets only about 25 percent of its possible sunshine and around nine hours of daylight, so the water reads flatter and grayer and afternoon feedings happen in fading light.

Things to Do Near the Seattle Aquarium

The aquarium’s own Ocean Pavilion opened on August 29, 2024. It is devoted to the Coral Triangle, the tropical stretch of the Pacific near Indonesia, and holds more than 100 species behind a yellow cedar exterior that LMN Architects designed to recall driftwood. For Pike Place Market, take the Overlook Walk, which opened on October 4, 2024, and climbs the nearly 30 meters (100 feet) between the market and the waterfront. It links the market directly with the aquarium, Pier 62 and Waterfront Park.

Two piers south, the Seattle Great Wheel on Pier 57 stands 53.3 meters (175 feet) tall and was the tallest Ferris wheel on the West Coast of the United States when it opened in June 2012. Head north instead and the Seattle Art Museum’s free Olympic Sculpture Park is about a 20-minute walk along the waterfront. For more otters, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, where Sekiu lived for four years, is an easy day trip south of the city.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

These cams cover more of Seattle and two other Pacific Coast aquariums.

• Pike Place Market Webcam
• Shilshole Bay Webcam
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Webcam
• Vancouver Aquarium Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Seattle Aquarium located?

At 1483 Alaskan Way on the central waterfront of downtown Seattle, Washington, facing Elliott Bay. The sea otter habitats are on Pier 60.

What can you see on the Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Webcam?

The camera looks down into a sea otter pool with clear green water, rockwork walls on the right, a large dark boulder on the left and a smaller rock in the water. Mishka, Sekiu and Ruby swim through it when they are in this part of the habitat, and a northern fur seal occasionally takes their place.

What time are the sea otters fed at the Seattle Aquarium?

The otters have a regular feeding at 4:45 p.m. Pacific time, and the aquarium recommends tuning in for it.

What are the names of the Seattle Aquarium sea otters?

Mishka, a northern sea otter rescued in Alaska, Sekiu, a northern sea otter born at the aquarium in 2012, and Ruby, a southern sea otter rehabilitated at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, who arrived in November 2025.

Why is there a fur seal on the Seattle Aquarium otter cam?

The marine mammals are trained to move between habitats while keepers clean them, so a northern fur seal sometimes uses an otter pool. Gates and doors keep the species apart.

Why is the Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Webcam showing an empty pool?

The otters move around their habitats and are not always in the part this camera covers, and animals are moved out while keepers clean a pool. Check back later, ideally around the 4:45 p.m. Pacific feeding.

What is the weather like in Seattle?

Mild and wet for much of the year. January averages 8.9 C (48 F) by day and 3.2 C (38 F) at night, while July and August reach about 25 C (77 F) in a dry summer.

Source: Seattle Aquarium