But sometimes babies are orphaned... ..or abandoned.

And Carl and his team are called in.

At the Monterey Aquarium Sea Otter Programme... ..Carl takes in pups as young as a day old.

When we get a stranded pup, all we're trying to do is basically rehydrate the pups, start them on a bottle feeding formula.

I should probably explain Carl's get-up.

It isn't safety gear.

This pup is about as dangerous as he looks.

The mask stops the pup thinking Carl is his mother.

If he's going to make it in the wild, then it's best he doesn't get too attached.

To mimic the care that a pup would get from mum, Carl and his team run an otter salon.

We start out with big, broad towels to essentially absorb most of the water.

And once the fur is sufficiently dry, we'll start incorporating brushes.

The brushes then allow us to separate the fur and get the air flow down into the underfur.

It might take 10 or 15 minutes at a time.

That would be one grooming session.

And we're doing this continuously throughout a 24-hour period with the pups.

It's a tough job, Carl.

But someone's got to do it.

Their fur is so dense that they essentially float like little corks at the surface of the water.

And the water itself is not actually contacting the skin.

By the time he's released back into the wild, the pup will have learnt all the skills he needs.

And his incredible fur will help him survive life as a wild otter out in the bay.