286 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 68 



the ease with which they may be captured on shore as (most 

 difficult first) : (1) mothers with young, (2) adult females, (3) 

 juveniles, and (4) adult males. Mothers with young were difficult 

 to net because (1) they were alert, slept lightly, and retreated to 

 the water at any hint of danger, and (2) they came ashore in 

 places that were least accessible to enemies. 



Because the sea otter has an acute sense of smell, animals of 

 all age and sex classes must be approached upwind. Among rocks 

 and near cliffs, eddy currents may carry enough scent in an up- 

 wind direction to alarm and stampede otters before they can be 

 captured. 



Captured otters were removed from the landing net either by 

 placing a small carrying cage at its mouth (fig. 105), or by lifting 



Figure 105. — After a sea otter was netted, a carrying cage was placed 

 horizontally on the rocks and the otter was allowed to move from the net 

 into the cage. After the animal entered, the cage was turned upright and • 

 the lid was fastened. The cage was then strapped to a packboard or 

 suspended from a pole for transport to a truck or boat. (KWK 55-8-10) 



