THE SEA OTTER IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN 293 



When bathing water was withheld, otters were kept in clean, 

 dry litter for periods of several months. Upon reintroduction to 

 water, however, the fur, because it was soiled, immediately be- 

 came soaked to the skin. The otters shivered and showed distress 

 (Kirkpatrick et al., 1955). With special care, (drying the fur with 

 towels and a warm air heater) or in warm weather, until water- 

 proofness was restored, some captives survived this ordeal. Other 

 harmful effects of dry caging, fur wear and matting, probably 

 cannot be remedied. 



It was demonstrated that the sea otter is a hardy animal in 

 captivity if its basic and critical environmental needs are satisfied. 

 It must be kept in clean flowing water that washes away food 

 scraps and body wastes. Free air circulation that aids in drying 

 the fur is also required. The sea otter, having no blubber layer, is 

 dependent for heat retention entirely on the insulation afforded by 

 air trapped within its fur. If the fur becomes soiled, allowing 

 water to reach the skin, chilling will result and if the animal is 

 not artificially and quickly dried, death, often accompanied by 

 enteritis, follows soon. These findings agree with those of Soviet 

 biologists (Reshetkin and Shidlovskaya, 1947; Marakov, 1965). 



Food and Feeding of Captives 



KINDS OF FOOD OFFERED 



Because the sea otter requires a large quantity of food, the 

 feeding of animals held captive in remote, isolated areas, posed 

 problems: (1) A large frozen food supply was seldom available; 

 (2) transportation to replenish dwindling food supplies was not 

 available and commercial facilities from which to obtain food 

 were hundreds of miles distant; and (3) fishing activities to obtain 

 food in Alaskan waters were often interrupted by stormy weather. 



For these reasons, experiments were conducted in the hope of 

 developing feeding methods requiring minimum expenditure of 

 time, money, and energy. Table 60 shows foods that were offered 

 and the degree to which they were accepted. Since canned, salted, 

 and dried foods were not readily accepted, the prospect of using 

 foods that are easy to transport and store was abandoned. 



Fishing with trammel nets in Constantine Harbor at Amchitka 

 Island was practical. The species taken in greatest number was 

 fringed greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus). Other species 

 shown in table 60 were taken in lesser quantity. 



In 1955 and 1956 no refrigeration was available. Fish that were 



