Sea otters live life as if on a never-ending vacation. The majority of their days are spent floating along in their trademark (and thoroughly relaxed-looking) reclined position, and the aquatic mammals eat, sleep, and mate in the water. They rarely come ashore, save for the occasional dry land snooze.
Sea otters also have a refined palate when it comes to diet. As they’re often seen smashing open clams and mussels on their stomachs with rocks, their affinity for shellfish is well-established, but the rotating otter carte du jour also includes octopus, sea urchin, and fish.
Most importantly though (insofar as their relaxation tendencies), they’re not afraid to say yes to a good time. Take the video above. In it, the Shedd Aquarium’s semi-famous otter pup, Luna, meets fellow sea otter Mara for the first time. Watch as they feel each other out briefly before ducking and diving throughout the nursery pool like a couple of vacationers on a morning swim. And pay particularly close attention to when they flip over to their backs, leisurely drifting along as the Shedd trainers throw them treats to snack on.
If that’s not a fitting playbook to follow this summer, then I don’t know what is. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, everyone. Channel your inner sea otter.
