The glamorous sea otter, producing the most luxurious of all furs, is increasing in numbers on its Alaskan coast- 

 line range. The present population of thousands has grown during the last three or four decades under Bureau 

 protection and management from a residual stock of a very few hundred animals. (Photo by Karl W. Kenyon) 



GAME BIRD INTRODUCTION 



Acceptance of the Bureau's foreijjn game in- 

 troduction program by the States has been sub- 

 stantial, and cooperative agreements are currently 

 in force witli 45 of tlie .'iO States. Trial liberations 

 of 16 species or subspecies of foreign game birds 

 are now underway in 23 States and the Territory 

 of Guam. In addition, all but two species, ob- 

 tained in southern Asia, are being reared in ap- 

 preciable numbers for trial I'elease on State game 

 farms. Cooperating in these propagation at- 

 tempts are 21 States. 



Program personnel devoted the latter half of 

 1962 to evaluation of results and servicing State 

 requests for technical assistance. It is much too 

 soon to predict results for most of tlie species 

 libei-ated, but it can be reported that Iranian and 

 Japanese green pheasants, francolin, and red- 

 legged partridges give cause for guarded optimism. 



Work in India was completed during 1962 with 

 the trapping and shipping of about 0^300 individ- 

 uals of five species. Of these, only six birds were 

 lost in shipment to the Ignited States, and losses in 

 quarantine were insignificant. 



35 



