A juvenile dark brown otter with white markings on its mouth and chest, resting on a light-colored fabric surface. 5:52

A pet otter's toilet paper nest for his family

The family needs a nest, Kotaro has decided, and a pet otter with a plan doesn't stop at a pile of cloth. He knows where the toilet paper is kept. more

Kotaro and Hana are pet otters who live with their owner in Japan, and keeping up with the pair of them is a full-time job. They are always into something. This time it is Kotaro, dragging piece after piece of cloth into the spot where he usually sleeps.

A small otter wrapped in a blue towel with yellow stitching looks straight at the camera. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The nest begins with cloth, carried piece by piece to the spot where Kotaro sleeps.

Cloth isn't enough for him. What he wants is in the cabinet, where the tissues and toilet paper live, soft and light and easy to carry. His owner tells him no. Kotaro hears this and takes the toilet paper anyway.

The next day he is at it again. Packaging gets torn open, and tiny pieces of toilet paper begin to pile up next to the cloth. He does all of it with a very serious face. In his mind, every scrap is clearly necessary.

An otter bites into a white paper bag, tearing the paper open. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The next day the packaging gets torn open and the building starts again.

This is the part people can't get enough of. Kotaro walks up to his owner, who's trying to sleep, and holds out a tiny piece of toilet paper, squeaking as he does it. Then he goes back for another sample, and another, each one presented with the same small sound, like a builder showing the client his materials.

A juvenile dark brown otter with white markings on its mouth and chest, resting on a light-colored fabric surface. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The family needs a nest, Kotaro has decided, and a pet otter with a plan doesn't stop at a pile of cloth.

The owner would like to sleep. Kotaro would like to show off. Kotaro wins, and the tissues and clothes keep coming until the nest is done, and the place he has picked for it is the owner's own bed.

Morning brings Hana, and Hana is soaking wet. She has not bothered to dry off, and she jumps straight onto the bed, nest and all, and leaves the whole thing wet through.

A wet otter sits upright and looks up with mouth slightly open, whiskers and dark eyes showing. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Hana comes in dripping and heads for the bed and the brand-new nest.

Kotaro isn't pleased. He has only just finished the thing, and now it's a soggy mess with Hana sitting in it. Their owner gives up on sleep at last, sits up and gathers the two of them into both arms, one dry and cross about it, one still dripping. The nest can be rebuilt, but the sleep is a lost cause.