Smithsonian Report, 1958.—Kenyon PLATE 1 
1. While feeding, a mother sea otter allows her young pup to float on the surface. This 
mother has just finished eating and is about to grasp her pup in her forelegs to place it 
on her chest. 
2. A mother sea otter preens her pup’s fur while the pup nurses from her abdominal nipples. 
Usually a pup nurses while its mother floats on her back, but occasionally, especially in 
late afternoon, the mother takes her pup ashore where she preens and dries its fur and 
allows the pup to nurse. 
