Sea otters are very romantic creatures. They hold hands while sleeping so they won’t drift apart.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – It’s not every day that people get the chance to see a wild animal give birth to its baby. But yesterday the miracle of birth was witnessed by Monterey Aquarium visitors as a sea otter climbed the tide pool and let nature take its course.
As you can see in the video embedded at the end of the article, the sea otter climbed on top of the rock as she felt that she went into labor. A couple of minutes later, after some pushing and some bending, the pup was born, and the mother was already nurturing it.
According to the spokesperson from the Monterey Aquarium, Ken Peterson, this is not the first time that a sea other used the covered tide pool to give birth to a pup. Only last December, another young otter became a mother in the same place.
Peterson believes that the pregnant otter was seeking refuge from the cold rain and agitated waters when it decided to settle for tide pool of the Monterey Aquarium. The cold, rainy afternoon was not favorable for a birth in the wild.
The miracle of birth was witnessed by Monterey Aquarium visitors as a wild otter decided to use the protected bay area as a birthing place. The event only serves to remind the general population that the cute animals are still in danger after their population was hunted to the brink of extinction.
The Enhydra lutris is native to the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean. An adult otter weighs somewhere between 31 and 99 pounds. Even though they are able to walk on dry land, the sea otters live mainly in the ocean.
And the sea otter is not only known for its cuteness or for the fact that couples usually sleep while holding hands so that they don’t drift away in different places.
No, the small furry creature is also one of the few mammals that use basic tools. Because when an otter finds a couple of good looking mollusks, it brings them to shore, grabs a sharp rock and starts hitting them in order to reach the juicy, nutritious content.
One interesting particularity of the species is its fur. The sea otter has the densest, thickest fur in the entire animal kingdom. The beautiful brown coat is actually the primary reason for which the small mammals were hunted near the brink of extinction.
Now the mammals are protected by law, but poachers are still on the lookout the sea otters. The punishment for poaching is severe in the United States, offenders even risking serious jail time.
Image source: YouTube
