The “cute” 2015 video was posted in Reddit’s “Aww” forum on Sunday by u/pietradolce, generating more than 68,00 upvotes and nearly 500 comments while shocking some commenters about the size of baby sea otters.
The video was filmed at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. According to a 2015 Tumblr post written by the aquarium, the mother otter in the video is wild; however, she was caught sneaking into the aquarium’s Great Tide Pool over a period of several days.
“It’s rare for a healthy sea otter to visit the pool so frequently—we started to wonder if she was doing all right,” the post read.
“Well, mystery solved! Around 8:30 a.m., Aquarium staff witnessed a BRAND NEW pup resting on her belly, being furiously groomed by a proud momma,” the post continued.
In the video, the mom floats around on her back in the Great Tide Pool while her baby lies fast asleep on her stomach. Throughout most of the clip, the mom keeps her arms tightly wrapped around her newborn pup as onlookers marvel at the sweet pair.
“We will provide any care to the baby?” asks an aquarium staff member in the video. “There will be no need to—mom is on the job. This is not a rescued otter situation…There is no cause for concern.”
Commenters were charmed by the video, though some were surprised to learn that the pup, which is covered in fluff and about half the size of its mother, was only a day old.
“They’re so snuggly I love them,” said u/Chewies-merkin.
“Aww so so cute,” commented u/saswiumnda.
Redditor u/trcomajo wrote: “One day old? Yikes, that is a giant (adorable) baby!”
u/Tim226 added: “No way that little dude’s one day old.”
On its website, Sea World explained that sea otters measure between 22 and 24 inches and weigh around five pounds at birth.
“They are somewhat precocial; born with eyes open, first teeth already emerging, and a full coat of dense fur that enables them to float,” the organization described. “They are, however, completely dependent on their mothers for care and protection.”
To keep their pups safe, female sea otters carry their pups on their bellies for the first three months of their lives.
“When she dives for food, the mother often wraps her pup in strands of kelp to keep it from drifting. If she senses danger, she grabs the pup by the loose skin of the neck with her teeth and dives until they reach safety,” said Sea World.
In other otter-related news, a Reddit video that shows an otter snuggling with a cat garnered more than 10,000 upvotes in January. That same month, a Facebook video of a passerby saving an otter from a pack of stray dogs went viral with over 2 million views.
And in October, a TikToker captured the moment a “killer” otter drowned a seagull.
