THE SEA OTTER IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN 91 



Figure 51. — A captive mother sea otter leads her 3- to 4-week-old pup from 

 the water. This appeared to be a "walking lesson." At other times the 

 mother carried her almost helpless pup from the water in her mouth. 

 (KWK 57-27-8) 



up because of her wounds, the hunters started to return to their 

 ship and later that same night, Snow wrote : 



We had traveled some distance, when all at once, right under our stern, we 

 heard the most unearthly crying imaginable; . . . another cry alongside 

 showed us the dark form of the otter we had been chasing. It was now 

 following the boat, lamenting the loss of her offspring. 



The possessiveness of the mother sea otter is evident from birth 

 until the young one is one-half to nearly two-thirds the mother's 

 size (fig. 52). Virtually the only time that the mother is apart from 

 her pup is while she is diving for food, while preening, or when 

 swimming beside the pup. On one occasion I watched a mother 

 with a juvenile nearly as large as she. They rested together on a 

 rock until the energetic young one began to explore nearby. When 

 it went to the water as if to depart, the mother rolled forward, 

 grasped the juvenile's hind flipper in her teeth, and did not release 

 it until the young one turned and resumed its position near her. 



Many observations of mothers and young at Amchitka indicate 

 that the ties between them may be strong but that the strength of 

 the mother-young bond varies with each individual. 



