This Clever Sea Otter Traded a Pebble for a Fish

The sea otter in this amazing video clip is making the cutest trade! In the video, the sea otter offers a fisherman a pebble in exchange for a fish, securing a fantastic deal. This behavior requires learning and intelligence, and an appreciation of the value of pebbles. Let’s take a closer look at how intelligent sea otters are and why they value their pebbles.

What Are Sea Otters?

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) belong to the same family as other otters, badgers, and weasels. They inhabit temperate coastal waters with rocky or soft sediment ocean bottoms. Here, they spend most of their time foraging for food in offshore forests of giant kelp. They will eat almost any fish or marine invertebrate that they can get hold of. Their diet includes sea urchins, sea stars, limpets, and scallops. They also eat crabs, but the hard exoskeletons are a challenge—this is where the rocks come in!

Why Do Sea Otters Love Rocks?

Studies have shown that the hardness of marine snail shells is at the upper limits of what a typical otter can crush with its jaws. So, they use small rocks as tools. They may do this by placing the prey on their chest as they float in the water, then hitting the prey with a rock. At other times, they place the rock on their chest and smash the prey against it.

They also often have a favorite rock, which is one that they have decided is the best shape for effectively smashing up their prey. This rock is important to them, and they store it in a pouch of skin under their arm so they can use it whenever they need to.

Are Sea Otters Really Clever Enough to Trade?

Sea otters are considered among the most intelligent creatures in our oceans, alongside dolphins and octopuses. Using tools has long been regarded as a sign of intelligence, and otters use rocks like a hammer. If they discover that presenting a rock to a human gets them food, it makes sense for them to do it again. Other members of the Mustelidae family are known for their inquisitiveness and intelligence. Sea otters seek out situations that challenge their minds. Otters can also be trained to perform simple tricks.

Genetic analysis of Californian sea otters suggests that tool use in sea otters may have a deep evolutionary history, potentially spanning thousands of years. However, otters that use tools are not necessarily genetic relatives. Nor does this seem to be a learned behavior. Otter pups raised in captivity show stone-pounding behavior without ever having been taught it. However, stone-pounding only becomes a regular part of their behavior when their diet requires it. These guys are clever!