I’m sure ya’ll re-nember the epic video of the two otters holding hands at the Vancouver Aquarium. Well, they’re back at it:
The Original is Here. WATCH AS THEY RECLASP HANDS OMG:
Way to update a classic, Rob F.
Otters Holding Hands Again
June 21, 2011 By
my head asploded at just about 1:20
I was thinking the exact same thing – “a cute OVERLOAD”
Where is that cabana boy?
I just love the collective aww at the reclasp on the original video. Update is cool too.
Ewwwwwwwwwwww ! What’s that puddle on the couch next to me ?????
Oh! it’s o.k. it’s just my heart that melted watching those videos !
Clean up on isle 3 !
I wonder if they each have their standard hand-holding position, like with a parent and child, the parent’s hand is always in the front. But if these are the same two otters, in the first video, it looks like the one with the darker markings has his pawsie in the back, but in the second (earlier) one, his pawsie is in the front. Very democratic. I NEED A GRANT, STAT. “Pawsie positioning in the hand-holding behavior of Enhydra lutris: Social Indicator or Just Insanely Cute??”
Otters do this in large groups when on the open sea as a means of keeping not only warm but safe. (If they hold hands, no one drifts off alone in the tide, becoming an easy target for predators.) The fact that it’s instinctual protective behavior makes it no less face-meltingly CUTE!!!!
Aw. This video makes me miss my significant otter.
Good one! LoL
Hey Harriet…If you want to see all these silly huumons make funny noises and melt into a pile of goo just hold my hand for a second.
muuhahaha gets em every time.
I bet if we balance a rock on our tummy’s while holding hands we could get them to toss us a few oysters.
You men need to learn from this one! If otters can do it so can you! I am just saying!
wait a minute. are these the same otters or is this an older vid? because i saw another video that the lighter colored one died.
either way, i heart hand holding otters.
Unless the ‘newer’ video is actually at least couple years old, it can’t be the same two otters. One of the otters, Nyac, died in 2008.
http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/26/goodbye-to-nyac-the-otter/
The other otter, Milo, is still alive. Here’s a link to the ‘Otter Cam’ at the Vancouver Aquarium.
http://www.vanaqua.org/ottercam/
…did I actually hear someone ask what those morsels of delight were ????
Their leetle back feetsies sticking straight up just adds to the Qteness. I want to be an otter floating in the cool water holding hands with my best friend. It is so hot here in Napa today.
Yes! I like the way they’re kind of crossed one over the other.
Modesty feet!!
*shakes head to disengage all the loose ends up inside there*
*wonders if I’m presently existing inside an episode of Twilight Zone*
well there is that signpost up ahead…
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
That goes for both clips.
All otters, at least at the Vancouver Aquarium, must love holding hands cuz one of the otters in the original video passed away
I would not mind it terribly if I were to be reincarnated as an otter.
Love exists in the animal kingdom. This proves it. These two are so incredibly adorable, I can’t stand it!
OMG,,,,THAT IS TRUE OTTER LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m from Toronto and have been to the Vancouver Aquarium (other side of country) twice at different times of year, and these otters hold hands constantly. I think I watched them for an hour both times and they never let go of each other. So adorabuhls (and even more adorabuhls in person!)
Note that ottère on the right looks like he’s sucking his thumb!
Disgruntled Canuck fans, behold! I get all relaxed just looking at this fuzzy pair.
Exit, pursued by bear.
Definitely one of Shakespeare’s more surreal moments, wouldn’t you say?
I remember hearing the news that one of the otters in the original video had died. So at least one of the otters in the new video is different. Maybe both of them are.
Animals do learn behaviors from each other. It’s possible that this hand-holding is something that the otters in this particular aquarium have learned, or it may be a behavior which occurs in nature as well. The otters may use hand-holding as a way to “raft” themselves together when they’re floating on their backs or sleeping whilst afloat.
Whatever the reason, it’s darn cute!
The original 2 otters were Nyac and Milo I believe. Nyac was rescued from the Exxon spill and had since died. I don’t know which 2 otters are in the new video though. The last time I went to the Aquarium, they had mention that Milo is the one that usually initiates the hand holding so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s him in the new video also.
Datz et! Ai wanna beez en ottur! Ai wanna bee oll floofie an cyoot an floatsez ohm mah bak whyle peepul uhpreesheeaytz mah awsumness oll dey longh!!
thanks.
blown up head here.
big mess.
going for paper towels.
Annapolitan is correct – otters hold hands in the wild to form a raft while they are sleeping, to stop them from drifting apart. They’re also known to wrap themselves in kelp for the same reason. Sea otters have peculiar territorial rules, and the sea is a big and menacing place, so not floating off in any old direction is a priority.
The otters in these videos aren’t displaying any unusual behaviours, which just makes it all the more damn cute if you ask me. There are probably sea otters out in the wild holding hands RIGHT NOW OMG!
NO.
WAY.
Way Dude! WAY!
WOAH!
/Keanu
I wish they were doing this when I was there in April…they were separated for tank cleaning though
Otter mind cloud: “Oh yeeeah. Gets the hoomans every time!”
The first video was the reason I got this bag when I saw it in a shop:
http://www.punk.com/1360138.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=2661&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=31333630313338
Thanks for the update!!!
I never tire of watching the older video. I get the same “my heart’s full” feeling from it as when I see an elderly couple holding hands and they’ve obviously been doing so, and deeply in love, for decades.
And now I’ve got Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” stuck in my head. LOL
“otters, otters, candlelight. Doin’ the town and doin’ it right. In the evening, it’s pretty pleasing.”
Otters holding hands never gets old
I love it!
Amanda, now I have to get that bag. Cute marketing is unfair.
I love hearing all of the different languages in the background. I can’t recognize most but I distinctly heard a few exclaims of “kawaii!”
I like to think that the ‘AWWWWWW’-ing people in the second video forged a friendship after seeing the paw clasping and later all went out to a pot-luck dinner.
It’s even better when some great Holst music is added in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yK9AfWhgv8