When you think of cute animals, otters are probably at the top of your list.
They’re truly just adorable balls of fluff. And that goes double for baby otters.
While you’d think otters would be used to being totally wet and submerged from the day they aren’t born, this isn’t so.
“A lot of people don’t realize it, but swimming doesn’t come naturally to river otter pups,” said otter keeper Becca Van Beek of the Oregon Zoo says. “They have to be taught to swim by their moms.”
A little otter named Joey was rescued and had to learn the ropes of how to swim after recovering.
But before you can swim, you have to get wet.
“Joey is gaining weight and strength quickly,” Marine Mammal Rescue writes on their YouTube channel.
“He’s a little more active now and showing interest in his environment and the enrichment toys he is given to play with. But he’s still not a huge fan of water.”
And that may have been an understatement. Joey really does not like water in the most hilarious way.
And Marine Mammal Rescue caught this on video.
Their video shows this sweet baby otter lying on his back in a tub of water being held up by his handler.
The furry little angel is holding his cutsie little paws above his belly.
And while he looks adorable, he is not happy as his handler starts to sprinkle water over him.
He starts shrieking and making this funny little distress call. His handler then lets go of him so that he can float. And he’s upset and shrieking over this but also kind of looks amazed.
He seems to like floating but not be super fond of getting wet by the water.
Joey got a nice introduction to the water and even though the ordeal was a bit distressing, it didn’t last long.
He got hand dried and fluffed with comfy thick white towels and hand-brushed for maximum floofiness.
Then Joey got nice and cozy with a nice bottle of milk. Next, it was playtime and Joey got to sit and play with a few rubber toys which included a penguin, whale, and octopus.
It doesn’t get more adorable than that! That’s why more than 2 million people have watched the video on YouTube.
“How is it physically possible that something so cute can exist?” one commenter on YouTube wrote.
I ask myself the same thing every time I see an otter.
Apparently, Joey has done very well in the hands of his caretakers.
“I can not believe this tiny little floof nugget is now a 20-pound swimming and diving machine. Even his meeps used to be tiny. He’s such a big boy now! My heart. It’s a testament to how well Joey’s carers look after him. Amazing work,” wrote one commenter on YouTube.
“For a short 2 months time from a tiny pup who didn’t like getting wet to a 19 lbs swimming pro. I wish that he could stay small forever, but I am also glad that he is growing up to be a happy healthy, and well-loved by many,” wrote another.
Joey is truly the cutest little guy around. What a real charmer.
Check out Joey’s adorable protest in the video below!
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