148 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 68 



Attu--13 



Shemya - - 10 



6 



4 



10 mi. 



172° 



174° 



Figure 71. — The sea otter was exterminated from the Near Islands during 

 the late 1800's or early 1900's. Probably because wide passes separate these 

 islands from the heavily populated Rat Islands, it was not until July 1964 

 that the first authentic observations of otters were obtained in the Near 

 Islands. Our aerial survey of 2 May 1965 revealed that at least 27 otters 

 are now established there. 



Whether the remnant population was exterminated before 1911, 

 or by poaching in later years, is not known. Beals (1943) visited 

 the Near Islands but was unable to find any clue that the sea otter 

 existed there. That the aboriginal sea otter population of the Near 

 Islands was in fact extirpated is beyond doubt. 



In 1956, Refuge Manager R. D. Jones moved five otters to Attu 

 from Amchitka on a U.S. Navy ship and liberated them. It is not 

 known whether any of these survived. Before our 1959 aerial 

 survey, no surface observer had reported seeing otters. 



Our aerial survey of 19 May 1959 included all of the Near 

 Islands and was conducted under excellent conditions. We made 

 repeated sweeps to inspect areas appearing to offer ideal sea otter 

 habitat but we saw no sea otters. 



B. F. Jones, while a biologist with the Fisheries Research Insti- 

 tute, told me that on 12 June 1959 he sighted one otter one-fourth 

 of a mile off Chirikof Point at the eastern extremity of Attu. An 

 additional report from R. D. Jones (letter, 25 March 1964) states 



