Sea otter emerges from water with ‘jaw-dropping’ companion — a horn shark, photos show

A sea otter emerged from the water with an unlikely companion: a horn shark.

Sea Otter Savvy, a nonprofit program that was started in 2015 by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shared photos of the never-before-seen duo last week.

“If you watch sea otters long enough you will see a range of sea life brought to the surface,” Sea Otter Savvy tweeted. “These ‘jaw-dropping’ images are the first record of an interaction between a sea otter and a horn shark.”

The experts aren’t certain if the sea otter brought the shark to the surface out of curiosity or hunger. It’s not unusual for sea otters to prey on fish in areas such as Alaska and Russia, but it is uncommon for California’s otters, the nonprofit said.

The sea otter nibbled on the shark, but it didn’t seem like the shark was eaten, Sea Otter Savvy said on Facebook. Sea Otter Savvy said it’s impossible to know what the sea otter wanted with the shark, though.

“We’d have to get inside the mind of this sea otter to know, but I feel comfortable ruling out play or competition,” Sea Otter Savvy said. “If I had to make an educated guess, I would say she was feeling around for prey on the substrate, touched this shark, and grabbed it like she would prey.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Sea otter emerges from water with ‘jaw-dropping’ companion — a horn shark, photos show."