while i usually try to share facts that are unusual, this week i just wanted to share one of my favorite cute animal facts.
sea otters hold paws while they sleep so they don’t drift away from each other!! (see adorable video below)
while they are resting, sea otters actually hang out with a same sex group of otters (between 10-1000 otters). to prevent themselves from floating adrift, they actually wrap themselves up in kelp to stay together & this formation of sea otters is referred to as a raft. i sure wish they all held hands to stay together, but the kelp solution is also pretttttty cute.
when momma sea otters are hunting to provide vittles for their baby, they tie their little one up in kelp to keep ‘em stationary. look at this literal fuzzbucket of a baby below! baby sea otters are too buoyant to hunt for the first 2 months of their lives.
sea otters have the densest fur of any other animal (1 million furs per square inch!!!) because they exclusively use their fur to stay warm. most other sea dwelling mammals also have blubber for insulation. sea otter’s fur only works for warmth when it is clean (as it keeps them warm by trapping air & repelling water), which is why you see them almost constantly grooming.