302 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



Breeding habits. Female otters have 4 mammae arranged in 2 

 pairs on the posterior part of the abdomen, and the young are usually 

 2, 3, or 4, the normal litter of fully adult females numbering 4. In 

 the far north the young are born in April (Kichardson 1829, p. 58), 

 but the time is much earlier in southern latitudes. Overton Dowell. 

 Jr., of Mercer, Lane County (Oreg. Sportsman, 1917, p. 15), says 

 that otters have 2 to 4 young in May. 



Food habits. Otters feed on fish, frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, 

 small mammals, or almost any small game they can catch. Fish 

 and crawfish generally form most of their food, as shown by fish 

 scales and bits of crawfish shells in the droppings along otter slides, 

 or on the banks of streams where they come put to feed and roll. As 

 their food is generally abundant and easily procured, they have 

 ample leisure for sleep and play. 



Economic status. In 1805 Llewis and Clark reported otters plenti- 

 ful along the " Multnomah " [Willamette] Elver, and in 1825 Ogden 

 (1909, p. 34.4), recorded in his journals the frequent capture of otters 

 by his beaver trappers in eastern Oregon. Next to the beaver 

 they were perhaps the most important fur animal of that time. In 

 1914 (Oreg. Sportsman, 1914, p. 20), it was reported that 143 otters 

 were taken in the State by licensed trappers during the open season, 

 November 1 to February 28, of the preceding winter; of these, 37 

 were taken in Douglas County; 21 in Coos County; 12 in Klamath 

 County, and lesser numbers in other parts of the State. At that 

 time prime skins of Pacific coast otters were quoted at $11 to $17 

 each. The fact that otters have so long been able to maintain con- 

 siderable numbers in the face of persistent trapping leaves them 

 among the more important fur bearers of today. 



They undoubtedly destroy some food and game fish but apparently 

 feed extensively upon suckers, minnows, and nonfood fishes, and other 

 unimportant animal life of the water. No serious charge of mischief 

 has ever been brought against them, and such numbers as the waters 

 of the State will reasonably support should be maintained. This 

 could be accomplished by a system of limited licenses providing for 

 taking only the surplus irom each drainage system. 



ENHYDRA LUTRIS NEREIS (MEBBIAM) 

 SOUTHERN SEA OTTEE; E-LTJCK-KE of the Clatsop (L. and C.) 



Latax lutris nereis Merriam, Biol. Soc. Wash. Proc. 17: 159, 1904. 



Type. Collected on San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara Islands, Calif., by 

 Geo. M. McGuire, 1904. 



General characters. Size large (pi. 43, A), form low and heavy, almost seal- 

 like; tail flattened, club-shaped, about a foot long; legs short; hind feet large, 

 fully webbed and paddlelike ; front feet small ; ears small and low down on side 

 of head; eyes rather small; mustaches of stiff bristles; skull weasellike, but 

 teeth 16 above and 16 below, the molars heavy and rounded for crushing instead 

 of cutting; fur deep and soft with short even guard hairs. Color very dark 

 brown or blackish over body, with gray head and throat; nose pad and lips 

 black; in prime fur of adult animals long white-tipped hairs are scattered 

 through the dark fur, giving a beautiful frosted appearance. 



Measurements. The type of nereis, an adult male, is a disarticulated skele- 

 ton; the total length of the animal in the flesh is given as 6 feet. Measure- 

 ments of adult given by Audubon: Total length, 5 feet 2 inches; tail, 1 foot; 

 hind foot of young about 2 years old, e 1 ^ inches ; " height of ear ", % inch. 

 (These are presumably measurements of California specimens.) Hoover 



