Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Skank Sinatra Review: Electric, hilarious, and open-hearted
    • Spacey Jane’s  ‘If That Makes Sense’ and Keeping Australian Music Alive
    • Trump administration issues executive order closing CIA black sites, convinced they are “woke” /Satire
    • “Lawfare”: Jewish staff and students rally behind USyd academics now facing federal legal action
    • Interview with Plestia Alaqad on ‘The Eyes of Gaza’
    • Whose Review Is It Anyway?: NUTS’ WPIIA 2025
    •  “Like diaspora, pollen needs to be scattered to different places to survive and grow”: Dual Opening of ‘Germinate/Propagate/Bloom’, and ‘Last Call’ at 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art
    • Akinola Davies Jr. on ‘My Father’s Shadow’, Namesakes, and Nostalgia
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Friday, June 20
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Culture

    Otter-ly delightful

    The humble otter has much to teach us.
    By Ariana HaghighiMay 2, 2021 Culture 4 Mins Read
    Art by Isla Mowbray
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    “Did you know that otters hold hands so they don’t drift apart?”, one of my friends tells me.

    I sigh. Yes, the otters have become a symbol of mutualistic affection, their cartoon bodies plastered onto cheesy Valentine’s cards with an accompanying ‘I otter-ly adore you!’. But they are more than a paragon of love. This creature is feisty, resourceful, playful, but most of all, multi-dimensional. 

    Trick and treat 

    Otters exhibit enigmatic behaviour all year round, leaving researchers puzzled in their wake. Mesmerising and playful, the creature has been frequently observed juggling small pebbles whilst afloat. They launch the rocks high into the air and catch them with grace, rolling them across their furry bellies and necks. According to researchers at the University of Exeter, otters are inherently social creatures with a penchant for mimicry- thus one juggler inspires a whole circus. Recently, theories have emerged aiming to explain this carnival act, including the hypothesis that the performance correlates with anticipating dinner! A popular theory suggests they may be innately drawn to juggling to distract themselves from hunger pangs, or to demonstrate their excitement. Rock juggling may also be a brain stimulating activity, increasing in frequency as they age, to remain sharp and alert. Like us, otters are closely attached to objects, as David Attenborough claims each otter has their favourite rock with which they tussle and play. Some keep their beloved rock under a loose fold of skin in their armpit area for their entire lifetime, refusing to part with it.

    A raft of fun

    These spirited beings do not simply come to play in the animal kingdom, but when they do, their playtime is one to behold. Researchers watch with amazement as otters create exhilarating water amusement parks, transforming waterfalls into water slides, turning somersaults and splashing in the sea. Sliding may actually serve a survival function; they accelerate down mud paths as a form of transport, and also reinforce territory with fecal ‘spraint’ production during vigorous activity. They clearly receive some adrenaline rush, as wild otters were once viewed sliding 16 times in under a minute! As they are social, their communal playtime can be remarkably structured and governed by rules. Otters have been observed playing ‘tag’ in groups and chasing each others’ tails, as well as undergoing bouts of non-aggressive wrestling, often as frequently as 20 times an hour. They are also notably vocal with others, and have been witnessed chuckling, chirping, squeaking and snorting, all in the name of lively otter banter. Indiscriminate in their embrace, otters will hold hands and play with strangers, bonding over a shared predilection for amusement. 

    Otterworldly skills

    Whilst otters cannot purchase tools from a hardware store, their resourcefulness and tact supersedes that of cavemen, as they find novel ways to break apart hard shells encasing their food. They have been observed viciously smashing their prey against sharp rocks, or repurposing their favourite toy as a hammer. In their game of life, play intertwines with their pursuit of nutrition. As Polecha, who studies the river otter, illustrates, “They are investigators. They turn over rocks and swim under log piles”, while spiritedly hunting for food. These creatures sometimes display a cunning nature, evident when they squat and settle in beaver dams, forcing an exodus of this fellow marine mammal, rather than constructing their own habitats. 

    Otterable skincare

    Researchers have endeavoured to decipher otters’ obsession with skincare, as they incessantly massage their own faces. This behaviour is purposeful, as sea otters tidy and neaten their fur, which is the densest in all the animal kingdom. Ensuring their fur’s cleanliness is crucial to maintaining its waterproofing qualities, so they vigorously rub and rub, to the delight of onlookers.   

    Looking after each-otter

    As well as holding hands to avoid drifting apart from their friends, otters are one of the most protective creatures over their pups. As young pups’ eyes remain closed for a short time after birth, the mother cleverly wraps them in seaweed and love, fastening her vulnerable offspring to her chest, and gliding gently along the water’s surface. If she needs to forage, she tightly ties her pup with kelp to ensure they do not drift astray. 

    I mustelid like it is: the otter’s spirited and infectious joie de vivre should delight us, uplift us and, most importantly, inspire us. I can only imagine humanity would improve if we tamed a favourite rock, opted for water slides as public transport, tied our loved ones in kelp, and approached life as a game.

    animals Nature otters

    Keep Reading

     “Like diaspora, pollen needs to be scattered to different places to survive and grow”: Dual Opening of ‘Germinate/Propagate/Bloom’, and ‘Last Call’ at 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art

    Akinola Davies Jr. on ‘My Father’s Shadow’, Namesakes, and Nostalgia

    The Anarchy 1138-53: to play or to plunder?

    Book review: The Homemade God

    Love in all its mortal precarity: Manon by the Australian Ballet

    ‘New Generation’ at Australian Fashion Week

    Just In

    Skank Sinatra Review: Electric, hilarious, and open-hearted

    June 20, 2025

    Spacey Jane’s  ‘If That Makes Sense’ and Keeping Australian Music Alive

    June 20, 2025

    Trump administration issues executive order closing CIA black sites, convinced they are “woke” /Satire

    June 19, 2025

    “Lawfare”: Jewish staff and students rally behind USyd academics now facing federal legal action

    June 19, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    Part One: The Tale of the Corporate University

    May 28, 2025

    “Thank you Conspiracy!” says Capitalism, as it survives another day

    May 21, 2025

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.