86 NOTES ON TEE KURIL ISLANDS. 



on which the otter, when undisturbed, loves to lie and be rocked by the heaving of 

 the ocean swell. 



After a period of rest from being hunted, the otters " school up " in the kelp- 

 patches. Formerly it was not unusual to fall in with " schools " of twenty to over 

 a hundred or more, but now it is a rare sight to see a dozen together. 



During the hunting season the otters lie mostly off shore, from 5 to 15 miles 

 away from the land. They come in to the kelp-patches in stormy weather, and 

 also at night to feed, leaving again before daylight. 



The sea-otter is not polygamous. The female, as a rule, produces but one at a 

 birth; but instances of two have been known. The writer had come under his 

 observation one such case, when two foetuses were taken from the womb of a dead 

 otter. The otter does not leave the water to give birth to its yoimg, but usually 

 seeks a kelp-patch for the purpose. Often, however, the young one is born in the 

 open sea. The female is much attached to her young, and when hunted will cling 

 to it until she is killed or badly wounded, or until the " pup " is drowned by her 

 constant diving. When diving, the " pup " is carried in its mother's mouth by the 

 skin at the back of the neck ; and when on the surface, the pup is carried on the 

 mother's breast, she swimming on her back, which is the usual position of an otter 

 when above water. 



The sea-otter has no particular breeding season ; " pups " of all ages are met 

 with in every month of the year. The period of gestation is not known for certain ; 

 neither is the age at which the female commences to breed. The sea-otter will 

 not live in captivity, and it is of such a shy nature that good opportunities of 

 observing its habits and life-history are rarely if ever offered. 



The cry of the sea-otter is like that of a cat, but somewhat harsher. In hunting 

 an otter carrying her " pup," the mother's whereabouts is constantly betrayed by the 

 mewing of the little one. 



The sea-otter has usually been hunted on this side the Pacific from schooners 

 carrying three boats. Each boat is manned by five or six men, including the 

 hunter, who stands in the bow on the look-out armed with a rifle. In fine weather 

 the boats leave the vessel before daylight, and spread out in line. When an otter is 

 seen a signal is given, and the boats take up positions some 600 or 800 yards apart 

 in the form of a triangle, the otter being inside. Each time the otter comes to the 

 surface to breathe he is fired at by the nearest boat, the others following if the otter 

 does not dive immediately. As soon as he disappears, the boats are shifted so as to 

 again have the animal within the triangle when he once more rises to breathe. As 

 the otter tires and his dives become shorter, the boats reduce their distance, when 

 sooner or later the otter is killed. 



The weather must be calm and the sea quite smooth, or the " run " of the otter 

 cannot be kept. When being hunted, the otter lies so low in the water, only just 

 exposing its muzzle, that it is difficult to see, and offers but a very small mark for 

 a rifle. Occasionally an otter is killed the first shot, but now and then a strong 

 and cunning fellow will take one or two hours to get. On one occasion the writer 

 saw an otter " run " for four hours, during which time nearly four hundred shots 

 were fired. An otter will often get outside the boats ; he will then generally go 

 straight away, breaching every few seconds like a salmon. The nearest boat then 

 takes up the chase, following right in his wake, and firing every time the otter 

 breaks water. The other two boats follow, one on each quarter of the leading boat, 



