An adult otter with dark brown fur on its back, lighter fur around its face and chest, white whiskers, in a brightly lit indoor play area with blue plastic structures. 7:28
KOTSUMET channel icon KOTSUMETOriginal creator 155K views Save

Festival drums turn an otter into a lookout

Kotaro and Hana are two otters with a quiet routine of swims and snacks. Then the drums start. more

The beat comes from a Matsuri festival close by, with drums for the Bon Odori dance, and the festival is back after a long break. The otters, who share their days on the KOTSUMET channel, have never heard anything like it. To them it is a big, strange sound coming from somewhere outside.

Kotaro goes into what his fans call meerkat mode. He stands up tall on his hind legs with his ears out and listens hard. Even now he keeps up an old habit and stops to sniff his own paw.

An otter stands upright on green artificial grass near wooden structures, paws slightly raised. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Standing tall on the grass, an otter tunes in to the strange new noise.

They also call him the Professor, and he wears the face to match, serious and deep in thought. He's too small to see where the sound comes from, so he works on the mystery with his ears and nose.

Their owner fills them in on the festival. Kotaro wants to find the sound for himself, and a few viewers swear his body starts moving with the beat. Hana is in no hurry to go looking.

An adult otter with dark brown fur on its back, lighter fur around its face and chest, white whiskers, in a brightly lit indoor play area with blue plastic structures. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Kotaro and Hana are two otters with a quiet routine of swims and snacks.

After that, the day goes on with a soundtrack. The otters play, snack and swim in their pool while the drums keep going. One viewer noticed that even while he plays with a water gun or eats a fish, Kotaro keeps checking on the noise. By the time he climbs out from his swim, he seems used to it.

A wet otter stands upright on a light blue surface with one paw raised and whiskers spread forward. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Wet from the pool, an otter stands up with whiskers out while the festival goes on.

As the festival winds down, the otters and their owner go out for the big finish. Then the party is over, and that means bedtime.

Days later, thunder rolls in, and Kotaro is back on his feet to study this new noise too. Hana's face when the lightning flashes has its own little fan club in the comments.

#dancing