THE SEA OTTER—KENYON 403 
tioned themselves at the tops of giant tripods, erected near favorite 
feeding or resting areas. Neither mothers nor pups were spared. 
A pup skin brought about $60, the skins of adults $200 to $300. So 
highly was the sea otter prized that by the end of the 19th century 
it had been hunted almost to extinction. The otters living off the 
western coasts of the United States were in fact thought to be extinct. 
However, in 1938 a group of 94 sea otters was discovered near Mon- 
terey, Calif. A reported 1957 count by Dr. Boolootian of 644 otters 
between Point Conception and Carmel Bay might indicate that at 
least 1,000 otters now inhabit the coastal waters of California. None 
have yet been reported from Oregon. A recent report, in August 
1958, of sea otters seen on the outer Washington coast, although not 
confirmed, sounds encouraging. Recently observers have reported sea 
otters from British Columbia waters but their identification has not 
so far been confirmed. In 1929 a sea otter was taken in Kyuquot 
Sound. This is the last authentic occurrence. 
In 1786 the Pribilof Islands were discovered by Russian fur hunters 
and their history demonstrates the course of thoughtless exploitation. 
In the first year of occupation as many as 5,000 sea otters were killed. 
By 1811 they were scarce animals and during the next 30 years were 
virtually exterminated. The last recorded skin in the Pribilofs was 
taken from an otter found dead in 1892. Of this once-thriving 
colony only scattered bones remain. 
Fortunately some sea otters remained in the Aleutian chain of is- 
lands and this remnant received protection in 1911, under a treaty 
whose main purpose was to save the North Pacific fur seals. The 
seal populations have rapidly recovered; the recovery of the sea 
otters, on the other hand, has been slow. 
SEA OTTER LIFE STUDIES 
Some years ago the United States Fish and Wildlife Service de- 
cided to make a detailed study of the sea otter, both in the wild and in 
captivity. It was also hoped that isolated parts of its former range, 
such as the Pribilof Islands, might be restocked from remote places 
where high populations now exist. As the sea otter seldom ventures 
far from land, natural dispersal takes place slowly. 
The place chosen for the studies was Amchitka Island which, except 
for its isolation and its distance of nearly 3,000 miles by the usual 
route from headquarters at Seattle, was an ideal place for the work. 
The island is approximately 40 miles long and from 1 to 4 miles wide, 
with a coastline of about 120 miles. The climate is windswept and 
fogbound—quite miserable by human standards, but apparently most 
appealing to sea otters. The otter population appears to be at, or very 
near, its natural maximum. As with deer on a heavily grazed range, 
a hard winter may leave many animals dead in its wake. Recent esti- 
