North Carolina contains an estimated population of about 3,000 otters. 

 Estimated populations on large untrapped refuges range from one otter 

 for each 367 acres to one for each 1,100 acres. During the 1958-59 

 trapping season, 10 otters were trapped from about 5,000 acres of marsh 

 in Currituck County. This is a yield of one otter for about eyery 

 500 acres of land. 



Otters appear to travel more during the mating season than at 

 any other time during the year, an estimated 10 to 12 miles. Families 

 appear to live within an area of about nine square miles, from the 

 birth of young in spring to the time of separation in fall or winter. 



During twelve trapping seasons, 1947-48—1958-59, a total of 12,557 

 otters were harvested. A record yield of 1,514 animals was caught in 

 the 1954-55 season. An epizootic that apparently struck following 

 the destructive hurricanes in 1955 reduced yields to 687 otters in 

 the winter of 1956-57. 



The fur of North Carolina otters is ranked among the best in North 

 America. The average price paid trappers in recent years varied from 

 $12 to $22 per skin. Select black pelts sold in New York in 

 1957 brought up to $48 each. (A. A. and G.S.) 



Keywords: otter, food preferences, behavior patterns. North Carolina 



D. Reptiles, Snails, and Insects 



V-D-1 



Chabreck, R.H. 1971. The foods and feeding habits of alligators from 

 fresh and saline environments in Louisiana. Proceedings of the 

 Twenty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of 

 Game and Fish Commissioners, pp. 117-124. 



Samples from fresh and saline waters in Louisiana showed little 

 relation between foods eaten by young alligators and organisms avail- 

 able in these environments. Crustaceans were the principal foods in 

 both freshwater and saline areas. Alligator stomachs from a fresh- 

 water area contained more than 6 times as much food as those from an 

 adjacent saline area. The stomach capacity in the freshwater area 

 was twice as great as in the saline area. The study suggests that 

 young alligators that remain for extended periods in saline areas 

 will have reduced growth rates as a result of reduced food intake. 

 (A. A.) 



Keywords: alligators, feeding habits, fresh and saline habitats, 

 Louisiana 



251 



