THE SEA OTTER IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN 211 



51° 20' 



179° 10' 179°20' 



—1 I 



Figure 83. — The southeastern end of Amchitka Island showing the most 

 favored male and female hauling grounds. Individual animals may haul 

 out at almost any location along the shore. At the locations indicated on the 

 map, however, aggregations of sea otters are habitually formed when num- 

 bers of animals come ashore to rest at all seasons. 



beaches the majority of animals habitually haul out on 40 to 50 

 m. of beach. A few individuals may haul out indiscriminately at 

 various distances from the most favored location. When a number 

 of otters are hauled out, they usually congregate in groups, often 

 sleeping in contact v^ith one another (fig. 84). Among 102 adult 

 otters killed in these areas, only 2 were females (table 44). 



It appears that the males, except those actively seeking to mate, 

 limit feeding activities to a radius of several hundred meters from 

 the haul-out location. If they did not do this, more than 7 percent 

 males (table 43) would have been shot in the female areas during 

 killing operations. When mating activity was observed (see Breed- 

 ing Behavior), males actively sought estrus females and mating 

 was observed only in female areas. Thus, it is reasonable that a 

 higher proportion of males was found in the female areas than 

 females in male areas. 



