Ollie Makes A Snowball

I am always amazed at how clever sea otters are. Case in point is Ollie and snowballs.

The sea otters at the Aquarium of the Pacific love ice. They especially like it when it is molded into a snowball that they can crunch into like a snow cone. One of the ways that the mammalogists build up a relationship with the otters under their care is by making these snowballs for them from the daily ice piles that are placed in their exhibit. Some otters will wait patiently while the snowballs are made for them. And then there’s Ollie.

Ollie, who I helped raise when she was just an orphan pup, is the most rambunctious and crafty sea otter I’ve ever met. By watching the staffers make snowballs Ollie taught herself how to make one herself. Now she doesn’t have to wait for a snowball to be made for her. She’ll just scoop up some ice and make her own snowball to munch on.

Check out the video to see Ollie in action making a snowball.