Who Loves Snow Days More Than Kids? Otters!

Articles Images Credited To Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Snow in SoCal?

You read that right! Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco has developed one of the coolest holiday traditions around.

Biologists poured 120 cubic feet of snow into the River Otter exhibit to give the adorable furballs a winter playground.

“You know when you were a kid and school closed for snow day? It’s exciting like that for them,” said Christina Slager, the aquarium’s director of animal care and exhibits.

Adding snow is only one way that the biologists try to keep things interesting for the river otters. The cute otters are basically catered to on a daily basis! Biologists bring in special foods like sushi and live fish, build hammocks so the otters can swaddle themselves, and offer a constantly changing arsenal of new toys and special scents.

So how did the otters react to their suddenly icy habitat?

SFGate says it best:

“Otter biologist Bryan Tom coaxed his slightly perplexed brood from their indoor sleeping dens into their suddenly white exhibit, calling them by name and tossing enticing shrimp into the snow. The otters sniffed, tested the snow with a paw, then as if remembering last year’s inaugural snow surprise, they dove in.

They raced up the rocks, then turned and slithered down the embankments and dove into the pools. They sussed out the shrimp and ate handfuls of snow. They chased each other in a circle around the base of a small Christmas tree in their enclosure.”

We’ll leave you with one last picture of a precious river otters as a parting gift. You’re welcome!

Read more on the river otter exhibit from our source, SFGate.