Otters At An Aquarium Get Crafty With Paint To Celebrate Season Of Love
Image via Living Shores Aquarium
Did you know otters hold hands when they sleep in water to prevent one another from drifting away? Over at the Living Shores Aquarium in Glen, New Hampshire, a pack of Asian small-clawed otters has found a new way to use their hands, or paws, to channel their love.
For recreation and enrichment, the aquarium’s close-knit clan partakes in painting on a regular basis. This Valentine’s Day, residents Peanut, Jelly, Saco, Harry, and Teddy got together and created cards in each of their own unique styles.
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The otters are most active in the morning, so painting began around 8 a.m. To give the artists a head-start in productivity, caretakers handed them treats to encourage them to get their paws dirty. Thereafter, the creatures walked across pink and red otter-safe paint to design their Valentine’s Day cards, or “ottergrams,” as the aquarium calls them.
The semiaquatic creators were compensated for their work—which is more than can be said for many human artists—with more snacks.
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The Living Shores Aquarium otters have been making valentines to “lift the spirits” of patients at local hospitals for the last couple of years, a spokesperson tells People.com. However, this is the first time they’ve extended their loving touch nationwide, as the aquarium has hosted a sweepstakes to give away the masterpieces to fans. According to the venue’s Instagram, 2,600 users have vied to get their hands on one of 10 otter-ly rare artworks.
Visitors at the aquarium on February 14 can also pop by the gift shop to buy a hand-painted valentine, and the first 25 who utter the secret password—“Secret Admirer”—to staff members will also be entitled to a free card signed by one of the artists.
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[via People.com and WMUR, images via Living Shores Aquarium]
