The Weasel Family — Sea Otters. 199 



which are a small proportion of long stiffer hairs. The 

 general color is a dark liver brown, silvered over with 

 the greyish tips of the longer hairs. The Sea Otter dif- 

 fers from the common Otter not only in external charac- 

 teristics, but in the construction and the number of its 

 teeth — having only thirty-two teeth, while the common 

 Otter has thirty-six, and Dr. Coues says: "If the teeth 

 of ordinary carnivorous quadrupeds be likened to fresh 

 chipped, sharp and angular bits of rock, those of the Sea 

 Otter are comparable to water-worn pebbles." Sea Ot- 

 ters are very playful and will lie upon their backs in the 

 water for hours tossing pieces of sea weed into the 

 air from paw to paw, or sporting with their young. Their 

 food consists almost entirely of clams, mussels, sea urchins 

 and other shell fish, from which they extract the contents 

 by taking on^e in each paw and striking them together 

 to break the shells. The young may be born at any sea- 

 son, but only one is produced at a birth. The mother 

 sleeps in the water on her back, with her young clasped 

 between her fore paws. Pups have frequently been cap- 

 tured alive, but it is impossible to raise them as when 

 taken from their mother they invariably die of self-im- 

 posed starvation. 



Sea Otters inhabit both coasts of the North Pacific ; 

 their chief haunts on the Asiatic side being found in 

 Kamschatka, and on the American side in Alaska, the 

 Aleutian Islands, Sitka Island on the west coast of Can- 

 ada, Vancouver Island and the shores of the continent 

 as far south as Oregon. It is stated by Mr. H. W. Elliot 

 that when the Kussian traders first opened up the Aleu- 

 tian Islands they found the natives wearing cloaks made 

 of the fur of the Sea Otter; and that when the Pribilov 

 Islands were discovered in the Bering Sea upwards of 

 five thousand Sea Otters were killed the first season, 

 but in less than six years these animals had com- 

 pletely disappeared from these islands ; and now they are 

 becoming so rare everywhere, that nothing but govern- 

 ment protection can save the species from total extinc- 

 tion. Mr. Elliott says: "Over two-thirds of the Sea 

 Otters now taken in Alaska are secured in two small 

 areas of water around the Islands of Saanach and Cher- 

 nobours and most of those taken on the Coast of Wash- 



