Chiefs star Travis Kelce’s love of otters may have come from this video
That GQ photographer missed a golden opportunity.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is featured in the latest edition of GQ, and he took part in a 12-hour photoshoot that produced a number of, um, interesting pictures.
That included shots with a python and an alligator.
“I’m not sure who was madder,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid quipped Wednesday, “the alligator or Travis.”
But we could have had photos of Kelce with an otter if the GQ pictures had been taken after Wednesday’s episode of the uber viral New Heights podcast.
Kelce’s girlfriend, international singing star Taylor Swift, was on the podcast and we learned that the Chiefs star loves otters.
That came up when Swift, who is into sourdough bread these days, discussed how like-minded people can interact.
“There’s people like me out there. This is where the Internet is a good place, where you can curate a reality, where, like, all I really use the Internet for is sourdough, and when Travis shows me videos of otters on his Instagram algorithm,” Swift said.
Yeah, Kelce likes otter videos.
“I want a wild otter so bad,” he said. “I just want to, like, find these little creatures.”
Swift added: “He wants one specifically whose life he saved. Who knows that he saved its life. It’s a really specific type of otter he’s looking for.”
Having an otter for a pet would be cool, but making a lifelong bond with the animal that lives in the wild is even better.
“He doesn’t want to, like, go up to an otter and take it from its mother,” Swift explained. “He wants to see an otter, and the otter’s like, ‘My paw’s caught in a shell.’ And he’s like, ‘I got you.’ And then the otter’s like, ‘Thank you, forever,’ with its little paws.”
Kelce interjected: “And I just bring him anchovies every couple of months.”
“And then it swims up, and you’re kayaking, and it’s like doing this to you,” Swift said as she mimicked rubbing Kelce’s shoulder. ”That’s what he wants, and I want it too, honestly.”
This apparently has been a discussion for the couple as they plotted ways to be prepared in the event they see an otter.
“We had discussed maybe carrying around cans of sardines, just in case we run into one,” Swift said. “It’s better in principle than it is in practice, easier to conceptualize.”
Kelce added: “I’m on the hunt for a friend.”
There is a very good chance that this is the video that captured Kelce’s heart.
Here is the full post from Instagram.
That talk of otters led people to make some funny memes of Kelce and his favorite animal. And Kelce received invitations to see otters.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 10:16 AM.
