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Tilly the otter teaches her adorable baby to swim

This month at Oregon Zoo, Tilly the river otter has been teaching her youngest pup, Zigzag, to swim. (Oregon Zoo/Twitter photo)

This month at Oregon Zoo's Cascade Stream and Pond Habitat, Tilly the river otter has been teaching her youngest pup, Zigzag, to swim.

"Otter pups are very dependent on their mother. They don't know how to swim right away, the mother actually has to teach them," said Julie Christie, the otters' lead keeper.

Affectionately nicknamed Ziggy, the playful two-month old is proving much more independent than Molalla, his older sibling born last January.

"Human parents often notice that the second child is much more independent," Christie said. "We are definitely noticing that with our second otter. He is way more independent than Mo was. Once Ziggy started walking, he has just been on the go. He's a little motorboat."

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And while it looks like Tilly is being tough on her little one, plunging him into the water, she's actually teaching him how to swim deeper.

"Tilly has been teaching Ziggy to do some deep dives," Christie said. "Otter pups are very buoyant, so it takes them a little bit to learn how to go underwater."

Watch Tilly teach Molalla to swim last spring here.