Floating on their backs to nap, sea otters often link paws in groups called 'rafts' so ocean currents don't separate them.
Besides holding hands, otters also wrap themselves in giant kelp fronds like natural anchors, letting entire groups snooze safely together on gentle waves.
Interactive Micro-Discovery Feed
Open this card in the vertical discovery feed, lock your guess, and earn +20 XP.
Quick Guess: Why do sea otters hold paws while napping on the ocean surface?
Verified Answer: To keep ocean currents from drifting them apart
Quiz Question: Why do sea otters hold paws while napping on the ocean surface?
Correct Answer: To keep ocean currents from drifting them apart
Linking paws (and wrapping in kelp) keeps otters together while they sleep.
Living in sub-zero Antarctic seas, the icefish uses 1 oversized heart to circulate completely clear blood with no hemoglobin or red blood cells.
Trees use microscopic fungal networks around their roots to send sugars to neighbors and warn them of insect attacks.
Living in frigid Arctic waters, this shark's central eye lens locks in embryonic proteins at birth—preserving Cold War nuclear bomb carbon signatures.
Despite having brains smaller than a sesame seed, honeybees can learn and remember human faces.