As the world remembers and mourns the iconic life of Betty White, one aquarium is sharing a story never before heard about the actress.
The Audubon Aquarium in Louisiana shared just how generous White was when she paid for a private plane to help relocate the aquarium's otters and penguins after Hurricane Katrina, according to the aquarium, WWL-TV reported.
The animals were moved to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and a spokesperson for the Audubon Aquarium, Annie Matherne, shared how heartfelt the gesture was.
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"Audubon did not find out until after the trip that Betty White had paid for a portion of the trip," Matherne said. "Betty was a huge animal advocate and conservationist. She did not want any fanfare surrounding her part in the relocation; she just wanted to help how she could. We are deeply saddened by the loss of a true friend."
The Audubon Aquarium bird caretaker at the time, Tom Dyer, took to Twitter to share his point of view about the story after it was announced that White had died.
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Dyer shared that Monterey Bay had called his aquarium, saying they would take the animals. So Dyer flew out with them and a veterinarian, and while on the plane, he said the pilot told him the trip cost around $70,000.
When he went to thank the Monterey Bay Aquarium director, he was told that a donor had paid for the trip, asking to remain anonymous.
"It finally leaked years later, and Betty White did it," Dyer said in his tweet.
White was 99 and just weeks from her 100th birthday when she passed away on Dec. 31, 2021. Her career spanned more than 80 years with appearances on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Golden Girls," and countless movies.
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