Vancouver Aquarium Webcam – Sea Otters in Stanley Park

The Vancouver Aquarium Webcam looks down into the outdoor sea otter pool at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. Two cameras run on this page. Sea Otter Cam frames a flat grey rock ledge in the foreground and the clear pool beyond it, where the rocky floor shows through the water on bright days. Sea Otter Cam 2 watches the habitat from another angle, beside a tall, grooved rock wall, looking across the water to a flat rock shelf. Six rescued sea otters share the pool, so the frame can go from empty water to an otter swimming past on its back in a matter of seconds. The light moves too, from sun patterns on the pool floor at midday to afternoon shade by the rock wall.

About the Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium opened on June 15, 1956, founded by University of British Columbia professors Murray Newman, Carl Lietze and Wilbert Clemens. It sits inside Stanley Park, the 405 hectare (1,001 acre) park on the edge of downtown Vancouver, and has about 9,300 square meters (100,000 square feet) of floor space holding around 65,000 animals. Its tanks hold 9.5 million liters (2.5 million US gallons) of water. The aquarium closed on August 31, 2020, under the financial strain of the pandemic, and reopened on August 16, 2021, under Herschend Family Entertainment, which has owned and run it since April 2021.

The otters on the Vancouver Aquarium Webcam live in The Wild Coast, the aquarium’s outdoor gallery. The aquarium names four females, Kunik, Katmai, Luna and Tofino, and two males, Rialto and Joey. Katmai was rescued in Alaska in 2012 and Kunik in 2016, while Luna and Tofino were rescued in British Columbia in 2024. Rialto arrived as a pup after being rescued in Washington State. Pups abandoned by their mothers before six months of age are considered non-releasable and need care for life.

The animals themselves explain a lot of what happens on screen. A sea otter’s fur carries up to 150,000 hairs per square centimeter (970,000 per square inch), the densest coat of any animal, and it has to eat an estimated 25 to 38 percent of its own body weight each day to make up for the heat it loses to the water. Adult males usually weigh 22 to 45 kilograms (49 to 99 pounds). In the wild they use rocks when hunting and feeding.

Weather and Climate in Vancouver

Vancouver has a temperate oceanic climate, and because the otter pool is outdoors, the Vancouver Aquarium Webcam shows whatever the sky is doing. Summer is mild and dry. July averages highs of 22.4 C (72 F) and lows of 13.9 C (57 F) at Vancouver International Airport, and it is the driest month, with 34.1 millimeters (1.3 inches) of rain. Spring and autumn are cool and close to each other, with April highs of 13.1 C (56 F) and October highs of 13.5 C (56 F), and lows of 5.7 C (42 F) and 7.0 C (45 F).

Winter is the wet season. November is the wettest month at 174.6 millimeters (6.9 inches), and the year adds up to 1,159.5 millimeters (45.6 inches). January highs average 6.8 C (44 F) with lows of 1.4 C (35 F). Snow is light by Canadian standards: the airport averages 36.6 centimeters (14.4 inches) a year, the third lowest total among 100 major Canadian cities, though some snow has been recorded there every year. On Sea Otter Cam 2 the tall rock wall already shades a corner of the pool by early afternoon in October, and that shade covers more of the water as the winter sun sits lower.

Things to Do Near the Vancouver Aquarium

Stanley Park opened on September 27, 1888, and is named after Lord Stanley, then Governor General of Canada, who dedicated it in 1889. Work on the seawall began in 1917, and the waterfront path now runs 22 kilometers (14 miles) from end to end, described as the longest uninterrupted waterfront walkway in the world. Walking or cycling the seawall from the aquarium takes you past the totem poles at Brockton Point, whose lighthouse marks the park’s easternmost point, and on to Prospect Point and the Lions Gate Bridge, which crosses to the North Shore.

Inland, Lost Lagoon is a 17 hectare (42 acre) freshwater lake by the Georgia Street entrance, and Beaver Lake, just under 4 hectares (10 acres), is smaller. The Stanley Park Railway, a miniature train that opened in 1964, is pulled by a replica of Canadian Pacific locomotive 374. On the western shore, Second Beach has a heated pool, and Siwash Rock stands offshore near Third Beach.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More marine mammals, and the harbor on the other side of Stanley Park:

• Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Webcam
• Sea Lion Beach Webcam
• Vancouver Harbour Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Vancouver Aquarium located?

The aquarium is inside Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on the edge of downtown. The road in is Avison Way, and transit route 19 runs to the park.

What can you see on the Vancouver Aquarium Webcam?

Two views of the outdoor sea otter habitat, both looking down onto the water from above. Sea Otter Cam shows a flat grey rock ledge in the foreground and the clear pool beyond it. Sea Otter Cam 2 sits beside a tall rock wall and looks across the pool toward a flat rock shelf. Neither camera looks underwater, and they do not show visitors, other exhibits or the rest of Stanley Park.

What are the names of the Vancouver Aquarium sea otters?

The aquarium names six: the females Kunik, Katmai, Luna and Tofino, and the males Rialto and Joey. Katmai and Kunik were rescued in Alaska, in 2012 and 2016, and Luna and Tofino were rescued in British Columbia in 2024. All six came to the aquarium as rescues.

Is the Vancouver Aquarium indoors?

Partly. The sea otters live outdoors, in a gallery called The Wild Coast, so the webcam shows real weather on the pool, from summer sun to winter rain.

Does the Vancouver Aquarium have whales?

No. Its last cetacean, a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Helen, was there until April 2021. The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which became federal law in 2019, prohibits breeding and acquiring new whales and dolphins in Canada. The webcam shows only the sea otter pool.

Are there wild sea otters in Vancouver?

Not around the city. Sea otters disappeared from British Columbia in the early 20th century, and the last one was taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island, and they now range from Clayoquot Sound to Aristazabal Island.

What is the weather like in Vancouver?

Mild and wet. Average highs run from 6.8 C (44 F) in January to 22.4 C (72 F) in July, and November is the wettest month.

Source: Vancouver Aquarium