306 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 68 



Figure 116.— The activities of a captive female sea otter were recorded for 

 each minute from before sunrise to after sunset on 29 August 1957. The 

 minutes spent in five categories of activity are summarized above for 

 each hour of observation. 



activity, grooming and exercising combined, was similar^ (72 

 percent in summer and 75 percent in winter). Grooming activity, 

 however, consumed more time in summer than in winter. 



Daily activity of wild and captive otters 



The daily pattern of activity of the captive female and a wild 

 female sea otter (further data are in the section on Breeding 

 Behavior) would be expected to show obvious differences because 

 a wild otter must search for food. Table 64 illustrates the 

 differences. The data (although recorded in the same manner) 

 are not strictly comparable because the captive otter was observed 

 from the time of awakening in the morning until retiring at night. 

 The wild otter was observed only from 1052 until 1820 (local time, 

 Amchitka Island). In general, however, this comparison illustrates 

 the fact that a wild otter must spend more than one-half of its 

 time in feeding while the captive spent less than 10 percent of her 



