When Toba Aquarium in Japan closes its doors, the final shift of the day begins.
Two sea otters, Mei and Kira, aged 21 and 17 according to media outlets that followed the story of the viral video, collect cones and floats from the tank and carry them to the shore. Their keeper meets them there. Nobody yells at them or pushes them: they swim over, one by one, until the whole pool is tidy.
Their payment arrives right away, and it’s modest: ice cubes they receive while continuing to float in the water. The aquarium, located in Mie Prefecture, about two hours from Osaka, has one of Japan’s largest collections, with around 1,200 specimens.
Experts cited by some media outlets explain it as environmental enrichment: activities designed to keep their cognitive abilities active.
