simultaneously, the pool must be drained daily or an accumulation of 
food scraps and feces begins to affect the water-repellent qualities 
of the fur. Captive otters are not affected adversely by frigid 
temperatures (fig. 7). 
When bathing water is withheld, otters may be kept in clean dry 
litter for periods of several months. However, upon reintroduction 
to water the animals immediately become soaked to the skin, shiver, 
and show distress. With special care, until waterproofness is re- 
gained, such captives survive this ordeal. The other harmful effects 
of dry caging, fur wear, and matting probably cannot be remedied. 
Food and parasitism 
In addition to the problem of fur condition, the matter of proper 
feeding posed problems. Otters held under dry caging conditions were 
temperamental in feeding. Certain foods were refused entirely, even 
by hungry animals. Also, the fringed greenling, Lebius superciliosus, 
which is the most readily available large source of food at Amchitka, 
is heavily parasitized by the roundworm, Porrocaecum decipiens. At least 
two captives died in which peritonitis had been caused by the penetra- 
tion of the gut by the larval stage of this roundworm. Other individuals, 
heavily infested after several weeks of captivity, often vomited and 
showed a loss of strength and vigor. It was found that freezing fish 
for 24 hours at temperatures between O° and -15° F. eliminated this 
source of trouble. For this reason a freezer was placed in the otter 
enclosure in 1957. The minimum daily requirement of food for adult 
and subadult otters is 6 pounds of fish, but a daily offering of 8 
pounds or more is desirable. 
Because of the difficulty of obtaining a sustained supply of food 
in the quantity required by otters held on Amchitka, canned and dried 
foods (mink food and dog food) were given to captive otters. All such 
foods were either refused entirely or accepted in insignificant quanti- 
ty. These foods also fall apart and are lost when placed in water. 
Transportation 
It can be inferred from the above that the transportation of 
otters poses severe problems if the animals are to be liberated in 
condition to survive. During air transportation it is impossible 
to furnish conditions comparable to those found in the wild. Animals 
must be shipped in small cages. Fur soiling may reach a dangerous 
point within 3 to 4 hours unless special attention is given. If the 
otters are fed slimy food or allowed to soil their fur with urine and 
fecal matter, waterproofness is rapidly lost and wetting to the skin 
results when the otter is placed in water. In a dry cage, temperature 
also becomes a critical problem. Animals experimentally flown by 
commercial airliner in 1957 failed to survive, it is thought, because 
of three factors: (1) high cabin temperatures (70° or more), (2) rapid 
ascent to altitudes above 10,000 feet in unpressurized aircraft, and 
(3) delays en route. If otters are transported aboard ship it would 
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