Photographers Catch Sea Otter Embracing a Little Shark

• An unlikely pair were caught on camera sharing a tight embrace — a sea otter and a little shark.
• At first glance, the pictures seemed to show a loving couple enjoying some hugs and kisses in the water.
• No one could offer a concrete explanation as to what brought these two together, however.

Photographers Don Henderson and Alice Cahill captured something strange off the coast of California while taking pictures of the marine life. There, floating in what seemed to be a tight embrace, was a very unlikely pair: a sea otter and a little shark.

No one seems to have an idea of how these two came to be together!

Sea Otter Savvy, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to protecting sea otters from human disturbance,” confirmed that this is a never-before-seen phenomenon.

The organization explained, “If you watch sea otters long enough you will see a reasonable sample of bottom-dwelling sea life brought to the surface out of hunger or curiosity. We are not sure which was the case here but these ‘jaw-dropping’ images are the first known record of a ‘foraging-like’ interaction between a sea otter and this creature.”

In some of the photos, the otter seemed to be giving the shark some curious nibbles every now and then. While some speculated that the otter may have considered the shark as a meal, this kind of behavior is also another first.

Michael Harris, a scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the San Luis Obispo Tribune, “It really is hard to say what the otter was doing with it. I really can’t say with any certainty.”

Whatever the reason, these pictures just seem to show a loving couple enjoying some hugs and kisses in the water.

The pair eventually separated, however. And with that, the mystery remains unsolved. Perhaps we will know more in the unlikely event that they meet again.

Source: The Dodo