{"id":545753,"date":"2023-10-05T10:16:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T16:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/?p=545753"},"modified":"2026-02-08T15:47:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T21:47:00","slug":"otters-mystery-of-their-favorite-stone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/otters-mystery-of-their-favorite-stone\/","title":{"rendered":"Otters and the Mystery of Their Favorite Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Regardless of their age, <\/span>otters<\/b> have a peculiar habit that sets them apart: they carry a <\/span>favorite stone with them throughout their entire liv<\/b>es. You’ve probably seen in photos or videos how these adorable creatures swim on their backs, holding something in their front paws.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, this can be their food or even their offspring. The truth is, the skill with which they manipulate objects while staying afloat is undeniable. But sometimes, what they take such good care of is a stone, their favorite stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do otters have a favorite stone?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Otters<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is the question<\/strong> that many biologists ponder as they watch otters choose and hold onto the same stone for their entire lives. Susan Milius<\/a>, an expert in Life Sciences, dismisses the idea that otters simply play with stones just to appear cute. She argues that otters’ movements resemble more of a rocking motion with their front paws than a simple graceful tossing of objects. She expressed this in an interview with Science News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the question remains: Why do otters choose a single stone<\/strong> to keep? According to the same specialist, this could be a form of training<\/strong> that prepares them for the challenges they will face in their environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otters in their habitat<\/a> must be ready to crack open mollusks, extract crustaceans from their shells, or tear into the carcasses of their prey to feed. Since they have relatively short<\/strong> claws, they need to constantly improve their dexterity to survive in their environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, it is plausible that playing with stones is an evolutionary necessity<\/strong> for their species, allowing them to keep their claws sharp and be prepared for any survival opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many unanswered hypotheses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"otters-and-the-mystery-of-their-favorite-stone-portada\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although this theory<\/a> could explain the peculiar behavior of otters, it is only one of several that exist<\/strong>. There is still not enough evidence to confidently assert which one is correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From an evolutionary perspective, play in the animal world generally does not serve a practical purpose or satisfy<\/strong> an immediate survival need. Gordon Burghardt<\/a>, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, suggests that otters are likely to do it “simply for fun<\/strong>, out of boredom, or for both reasons,” rather than as a direct need for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could explain why otters, regardless of their age, continue to perform these characteristic movements with their favorite stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, it is extremely curious to see how these endearing animals go to great lengths to preserve their favorite stones, guarding them jealously. Although we don’t know why they do it, perhaps we should just let them have fun with them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regardless of their age, otters have a peculiar habit that sets them apart: they carry a favorite stone with them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2284,"featured_media":545755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"two_page_speed":[],"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[107085,107245],"tags":[112850,112851,112848,107086,112852,112853,112847,112856,112855,107229,112857,112854,112858,112849],"class_list":["post-545753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-ecology","tag-biologists","tag-care","tag-claws","tag-ecology","tag-favorite","tag-fun","tag-gordon-burghardt-2","tag-mystery","tag-nutrias-2","tag-research","tag-stone","tag-susan-milius-2","tag-theory","tag-trainer"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdR79Q-2hYt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":547948,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/find-statues-have-belonged-atlantis-eas\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":0},"title":"Remnants of Atlantis? Discovery of Relics Over 2,500 Years Old Sheds Light on the Mystery","author":"Erick Sumoza","date":"November 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Atlantis has been a legend that has piqued interest for thousands of years. Did the lost continent truly exist? We do not know, but the discovery of statues in Spain could shed light on the ancient mysterious society. Statues Could Have Originated from Atlantis A discovery could bring us closer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exploring the world"","block_context":{"text":"Exploring the world","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/category\/lifestyle\/exploring-the-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Remnants of Atlantis? Discovery of Relics Over 2,500 Years Old Sheds Light on the Mystery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/remnants-of-atlantis-discovery-of-relics-over-2500-years-old-sheds-light-on-the-mystery-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/remnants-of-atlantis-discovery-of-relics-over-2500-years-old-sheds-light-on-the-mystery-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/remnants-of-atlantis-discovery-of-relics-over-2500-years-old-sheds-light-on-the-mystery-cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/remnants-of-atlantis-discovery-of-relics-over-2500-years-old-sheds-light-on-the-mystery-cover.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/remnants-of-atlantis-discovery-of-relics-over-2500-years-old-sheds-light-on-the-mystery-cover.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":597180,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/doctors-extract-35-bladder-stones-from-man-who-drank-3-liters-of-soda-daily\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":1},"title":"Doctors Extract 35 Bladder Stones from Man Who Drank 3 Liters of Soda Daily","author":"Erick Sumoza","date":"May 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A viral video on social media has raised alarms about the dangers of excessive soda consumption. Brazilian urologist\u00a0Thales Franco de Andrade\u00a0shared the shocking surgery extracting\u00a035 bladder stones\u00a0from a patient consuming up to 3 liters daily of these drinks. The case has sparked concern over this habit's effects on kidney health.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/category\/news-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"c\u00e1lculos","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-3.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":536322,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/road-built-7000-years-ago-found-at-the-bottom-of-the-mediterranean-sea-eacr\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":2},"title":"Road Built 7,000 Years Ago Found at The Bottom of The Mediterranean Sea","author":"Andrey Robles","date":"May 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of a 7,000-year-old road hidden beneath layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast. Made at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, this exciting find may once have linked the ancient Hvar culture settlement to the now isolated island of Kor\u010dula. Once an artificial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exploring the world"","block_context":{"text":"Exploring the world","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/category\/lifestyle\/exploring-the-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/carretera_en_el_fondo_del_oceano_jhg-lanczos3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/carretera_en_el_fondo_del_oceano_jhg-lanczos3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/carretera_en_el_fondo_del_oceano_jhg-lanczos3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/carretera_en_el_fondo_del_oceano_jhg-lanczos3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/carretera_en_el_fondo_del_oceano_jhg-lanczos3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":548313,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/oldest-cave-engravings-not-homo-sapiens-eas\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":3},"title":"Neanderthals, Not Homo sapiens, Created the World’s Oldest Cave Engravings","author":"Erick Sumoza","date":"November 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent discovery has revealed that Homo sapiens were not the first \"artists\" of cave engravings in the world. The discovery of fingerprints dating back 57,000 years confirms this. The study took place in France and has become the oldest known human-made engraving. However, what is most surprising is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science"","block_context":{"text":"Science","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/category\/science\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Neanderthals, Not Homo sapiens, Created the World's Oldest Cave Engravings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/neanderthals-not-homo-sapiens-created-the-worlds-oldest-cave-engravings-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/neanderthals-not-homo-sapiens-created-the-worlds-oldest-cave-engravings-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/neanderthals-not-homo-sapiens-created-the-worlds-oldest-cave-engravings-cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/neanderthals-not-homo-sapiens-created-the-worlds-oldest-cave-engravings-cover.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/neanderthals-not-homo-sapiens-created-the-worlds-oldest-cave-engravings-cover.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":533495,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/explore-the-interior-of-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-with-this-3d-and-360-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":4},"title":"Explore the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza with this 3D and 360\u00b0 tour.","author":"Alejandra Galaz","date":"March 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Now you can explore the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza through a 3D digital tour. Also known as the Pyramid of Khufu, it was photographed by researchers to create a tour of its three interior chambers. https:\/\/twitter.com\/digitalcerebro\/status\/1633201292515344385 About the tour The tour begins by entering through a tunnel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Internacional"","block_context":{"text":"Internacional","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/category\/internacional\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-12.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-12.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-12.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-12.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Untitled-design-12.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":539824,"url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/women-in-prehistoric-times-hunted-too-study-says-eacr\/","url_meta":{"origin":545753,"position":5},"title":"Women in prehistoric times hunted, too, study says","author":"Andrey Robles","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For decades, scientists have believed that early humans had a division of labor: Men generally did the hunting and women did the gathering. And this view hasn't been limited to academics. It's often been used to make the case that men and women today should stick to the supposedly \"natural\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/category\/news-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dibujos_rupestres_cazadores_jhgv-mitchell.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dibujos_rupestres_cazadores_jhgv-mitchell.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dibujos_rupestres_cazadores_jhgv-mitchell.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dibujos_rupestres_cazadores_jhgv-mitchell.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dibujos_rupestres_cazadores_jhgv-mitchell.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/otters-and-the-mystery-of-their-favorite-stone-portada.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545753"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":595722,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545753\/revisions\/595722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerebrodigital.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}