434 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
one upon her, and holds it in her paws. — Steller has represented 
a mother in this position. Hunters very frequently surprise these 
poor creatures thus asleep, and almost always succeed in killing 
them. 
When robbed of her young the sea-otter utters plaintive cries. 
She follows the spoiler from a distance, calling her little one in a 
supplicating manner, and it often replies by similar wailing. 
The fur of the otter is very close, soft, and glossy. It is of 
great value, and justly so, for it is one of the most beautiful 
furs known. The male adults are called dobry, the female 
matka ; little ones of one year old are called osch/loki; and small 
ones of a few months old, mediviekt. The Russians and Americans, 
who chiefly carry on the trade in these skins, sell them principally 
to the Chinese, by whom they are worn as an ornament or as a 
distinctive badge by functionaries of high rank. Very few are 
brought into Europe; but many Russian noblemen value this 
remarkable fur as much as Chinese mandarins. These skins are 
worth, in China, from £30 to £50 a-piece, according to their state 
of preservation, and the glossiness and fineness of the hair. It 
is stated that the number of sea-otters is yearly diminishing in 
those parts where formerly they abounded ; therefore, the price 
must rise considerably. We are assured that recently many skins 
have been sold at St. Petersburg for as much as 480. 
In the time of Steller, the crew of one ship might kill 800 
otters in a single season. In the present day, the otter-fishers 
are not so fortunate. They have a good deal of trouble in pro- 
curing a few couples. On some coasts, particularly in Japan, the 
sea-otter is no longer seen, except accidentally. The capture of 
this valuable animal should be regulated by law, lest at no very 
distant future the species should completely disappear. 
The sea-otter has an historical interest. It was chiefly in 
pursuing this chase that the Russians arrived first on the coast of 
Kamtschatka, and afterwards in America. 
This otter is rarely to be seen in museums; the reason is 
evident. In the cabinet of Munich there is a skeleton, given by 
the Duke of Leuchtenberg. The Museum of Natural History 
in Paris was enriched in 1853 by two skeletons, of a male and 
female, presented by Professor Nordmann. 
