Why Do Otters Hold Hands While Sleeping?
- bioworld090
- Jul 27, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 10, 2023
Photo by Peter Burka
Otters are carnivorous mammals belonging to the family Mustelidae. These brown-furred carnivores are known for being playful, energetic, and wild. There are several interesting facts about otters, and one of them is their habit of holding each other's hands while sleeping.
Do all species of otters hold hands?
There are 13 species of otters divided into seven genera. Out of seven genera, only one genus of otters, Enhydra, holds hands while sleeping. The genus Enhydra includes otters that are commonly known as sea otters. So, not all species of otters hold hands while sleeping, but only sea otters do.
Why do sea otters hold each other's hands while sleeping?
At first sight, it might look like the behavior is an expression of love, but it is not. Sea otters live mostly in the water and rarely go on land. This means they carry out all their activities, such as feeding, mating, playing, sleeping, etc., in the water only. Since they sleep in the water, they need to make sure they don't drift away from their group. It is one of the reasons that they hold each other's hands while sleeping.
Another reason otters hold each other's hands is to ensure they do not lose their mate to another male.
Mother otters also hold the hands of their pups but if the pup is too young it rides on its mother's belly.
Image Credit: Reddit
They also have other methods to ensure they stay with the group while sleeping. Sea otters often congregate into groups to sleep. These groups are called rafts and can contain as few as 2-100 otters or as many as a thousand otters. The largest raft ever contained more than 2000 otters. They also wrap themselves in kelp near their chests or pelvic regions to make sure they don't drift away while sleeping.
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