VIII 



CONTENTS 



Page 



43. During the grooming period, before hauling out, 



the sea otter may beat the water to a froth with 



the front legs 82 



44. After hauling out, the otter usually rests on its 



back while grooming and drying its 



fur before sleeping 83 



45. A captive adult male sea otter from Amchitka 



Island pounds a clam, held between his forepaws, 



against a rock resting on his chest 84 



46. A captive otter pounded herring against 



the cement edge of her pool 85 



47. A juvenile sea otter, cornered on an Amchitka 



beach, prepares to rear backwards 86 



48. In the defensive position a sea otter 



lies on its back 87 



49. When closely approached a cornered sea otter 



hisses, extends its stiffened forelegs, and 



rears back as far as possible 88 



50. After a feeding period and before taking her 3- 



to 4-week-old pup ashore, the mother sea otter 



scrubs and grooms her fur with her forepaws 90 



51. A captive mother sea otter leads her 3- to 



4-week-old pup from the water 91 



52. The mother is solicitous of her young for a long period 92 



53. The mother sea otter carries her pup high on her 



chest, clasped by both front paws 95 



54. This mother sea otter and her large juvenile 



were surprised on land 96 



55. After dragging her pup onto a rock, a mother sea 



otter preens and dries her fur while she supports 

 the head of her nursing pup with a hind flipper 97 



56. A pup, probably about 2 months old, swims 



beside its mother 99 



57. The mother sea otter has just emerged from a 



feeding dive 100 



58. An immature Glaucous-winged Gull waits expectantly 



for fish scraps discarded by a feeding sea otter 104 



59. A captive sea otter pounds a clam 



on the cement edge of her pool 107 



60. Clams were broken open by pounding one 



against another held on the chest 109 



61. A wild otter accepts a fish head from 



Innokenty Golodoff 113 



62. A captive adult female sea otter clasps one piece 



of fish to her chest under her left foreleg while 



she reaches with her teeth to grasp another 114 



63. At frequent intervals the sea otter stops eating 



and rolls about its longitudinal axis through 360° 115 



64. Food taken from a sea otter stomach 119 



65. Intact sea otter food organisms and partially 



digested fragments of the same species 



removed from stomachs 120 



