A little dose of cuteness
A little dose of cuteness
An otter pup learns to swim the tough-love way; Dumbo octopuses doing their silly Dumbo octopus things. Because we could all use a little break from... everything else right now.
Have you ever wondered how semi-aquatic animals like otters learn to swim? We see them flit about the water effortlessly, hunting and playing and even sleeping afloat, and it would seem they came out of the womb Olympic swimmers despite also being made to operate on land. But just like us, they need to be taught — and there’s no better swim instructor than an otter mom (other than myself, obviously, shoutout to my WSI days).
The Oregon Zoo recently shared a video of an adult North American river otter teaching her 4-month-old pup how to swim, and it’s as adorable as it is eye-opening. If your parents taught you how to swim by tossing you into the deep end and making you tread for dear life, a lot of this should feel familiar.
Watch the full video from the Oregon Zoo
Tilly, the 13-year-old otter mama, drags baby Mo into the water face first and uses her own motion as a guide, undulating with her entire body to propel them both. Mo, who is essentially positioned like a figurehead on this little mammalian ship, has no choice but to start pedaling against the water that’s coming at him nonstop. This isn’t Tilly’s first rodeo, and before you know it, little Mo will be doing this all on his own.
"It might look kind of scary to a casual observer but it's a very natural behavior,” zookeeper Becca Van Beek told the news agency SWNS. "Baby otters are extremely buoyant, so Mo has built-in water wings for his swim lessons. This is how baby otters learn to swim in the wild and it's exactly what we've been hoping to see."
One of my favorite places on the internet will forever be the YouTube channel of the Ocean Exploration Trust’s EVNautilus, a research vessel dedicated to unlocking some of the ocean’s many, many mysteries through ongoing international collaboration. Working with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can obtain firsthand footage of areas too deep for human exploration, the Nautilus crews over the years have seen some pretty amazing stuff in the depths. That occasionally includes some of the cutest, stupidest-looking octopuses with “the biggest Dumbo flappy flaps” you ever did see. (Yes, those are real words a real ocean scientist said, and if you’ll just take a look at this thing, I promise you’ll forgive the baby talk immediately.)
Watch the full video from the EVNautilus team
During an exploration mission in the area of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument back in April, researchers were graced by the appearance of two (2!!) Dumbo octopuses. For the uninitiated, Dumbo octopuses are basically known for being ridiculously cute. Their colloquial name comes from their distinctive ear-like flaps, which kind of make them look like that cartoon elephant.
This especially adorable orange one, pictured below, is a young Dumbo from the Cirroteuthid family who was spotted at about 1,700 meters below the surface.
The second, an adult from the genus Grimpoteuthis, is among the more regal Dumbo octopuses you might see. It’s less goofy-cute, more “please do not bother me, I am adrift with my thoughts.” The team ran into this one at 2,160 meters but, according to one of the scientists, they can be found as deep as 7,000 meters.
There will never be a time when watching cephalopods simply exist doesn’t break my brain a little. There’s just something so otherworldly about them. If I’m being honest with you, I’ve been watching octopus videos for hours…
‘Til next time!