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Featured era: 2007
Otters Holding Hands
“Two sea otters, floating together, holding paws.”
- Featured era
- 2007
- Peak era
- 2007
- Company
- Cynthia Holmes
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
Nyac and Milo, "Otters holding hands"
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- Otters holding hands
- Added:
- March 19, 2007
- Length:
- 1:41
What Was It?
"Otters holding hands" shows two sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium holding each other's paws in the water. Cynthia Holmes recorded the footage, and after it was posted on YouTube in 2007 it became the site's most popular animal video at the time.
The otters had their own stories. The lighter one was Nyac, one of the last surviving sea otters rescued from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The darker one was Milo, who came to the aquarium after being judged unable to return to the wild.
The video's success led the aquarium to set up a live sea otter cam on its website. Nyac died in September 2008, aged about 20, and Milo died in January 2012.
Things You Probably Forgot
- Two otters drifting together, paw in paw
- Nyac, a survivor of the Exxon Valdez spill
- The aquarium's live otter cam
- When this was YouTube's most popular animal video
The Story
- 1989 Nyac was rescued after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
- 2007 The video of Nyac and Milo holding paws was posted on YouTube.
- 2008 Nyac died on September 23, aged about 20.
- 2012 Milo died on January 12.
Its Legacy
The video is still on YouTube. It remains one of the gentlest early YouTube hits, and it gave the Vancouver Aquarium its otter cam.
Memories
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