What makes a sea otter?
For Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students and alumni, it can mean many things. Tradition, identity, community.
CSUMB’s new “Otters for Life” statue was unveiled Thursday, drawing a large crowd, including university organizations, alumni, a visiting marching band and founding CSUMB President Peter Smith. Current President Vanya Quiñones introduced a new tradition: “Rub the paw for community and the nose for good luck.”
After her speech and the unveiling, many students waited in line to rub the nose and become a part of this new campus tradition.
The 9-foot statue portrays two sea otters in the wild, diving together among some driftwood. But earlier renditions of what the statue might look like created some comment that the otters looked more like river otters.
Gerick Bergsma, Ph.D. assistant professor in the Department of Marine Science and curator of the Biological Teaching Collection at Cal State Monterey Bay said sea otters have thicker, stouter bodies, shorter limbs relative to the rest of the body and ears that are tucked beneath dense fur–adaptations to their cold ocean habitat.
That became a little more relevant following the release of concept art for the “Otters for Life” statue on April 7. Many commenters on Instagram voiced concerns about the otters’ appearance after the rendering was posted on the Otter Student Union (OSU) account.
They weren’t alone.
To Bergsma, that particular design could plausibly depict either species. But just as important as biological accuracy, he said, is context. The sleek, diving otters on the statue, with their ears pointed and rising driftwood, don’t reflect the imagery many associate with sea otters – floating on their backs, cracking open shellfish.
“My take is the bigger reason they probably don’t look as much like sea otters, as I would hope they would, is how they’ve placed them on the statue,” said Bergsma.
Bergsma shared his feedback with the University Art Committee, which selected the final concept from nine early proposals. The OSU art committee also offered feedback during the process – and had similar concerns.
Alumni Association representative Carisse Ballard assured board members that “the final rendition of the statue was consulted with marine science faculty to make sure it was anatomically accurate.”
Bergsma, who witnessed the project from nearly the start, is optimistic about what it will mean for CSUMB.
“These traditions do have a meaningful impact on how people feel toward the school and their connection with the school and their memories of the school,” said Bergsma. “We’re a young campus and we haven’t built up the traditions that other campuses have. I think that’ll be positive in one way or another in the long run.”
And when the sheet was finally pulled away, it appeared the feedback had taken hold.
The final statue featured stouter bodies, shorter limbs and overall more sea otter-like features.
In the end, the statue represented something more: tradition.
“This isn’t just a sculpture,”said Ben Corpus, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, during the ceremony. “It’s a celebration of our identity, who we are and where we are going as a campus community,”