Who doesn’t love watching otters play, hold hands, and use each other’s tummies as rafts? Sea otters, which live in northern coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean, are iconic animals, their charm makes them great mascots for environmental protection efforts, and their importance to their local ecosystems cannot be understated.

Sadly, sea otters are threatened by pollution, poaching, and commercial fishing, which sometimes leads to baby otters washing up to shore unattended. But thanks to the efforts of aquariums where people are able to care for them around the clock and teach them life skills, even otter orphans have a chance of making it to adulthood.

And we get lots of adorable baby otter pics along the way. Scroll down, have a look, and upvote your favorites!