Translation 2783

..... 157
Kofiiando.r.slc'ie Islands -t;hey tâke place mostly from July to aepteniber,
i.e. wu' a time t•rheii large'groups of males and females are observecl
far from shore, in beds of sea--ke,le. It has also been su{:;•Cested that
106
young females, when mating i:or the first time, are fecundàted hionths
earlier than older ferie.les, i.e. from April to. June,' .a,_d. conseélueiztly
they give birth from January to i•larch. C:opu].atiori tal:e., place several.
'times ana is eonuul:unated in the water. Piost investigators are of the
opinion that the sea otter is apolyc;amous clniinal. Gestation lasts
for eiL,?;nt
or nine months. It is believed that fc.male sea otters become
sexually mature at the age of one or one-and-a-half years, and that
they first become pregnant at the age of two years; the nla les become
sexually mature at the end of their second year of life. •.U11e fre-
Cjuency of' breeding is not positively known: some investigators think
that the females breecl every second year, others that tiiey breed
every year.
As with other semi--aque.tic maminals, the moult is very prolonged
and extends over the whole year. In the l^onandorskie Islands the most
intensive moulting, takes place in the spring and summer (from April.
to July) .
It has also been observed tllat the r urile sea ottcrs moult
motie intc:nsively •thân do the Komandorskie ones.
A shift, in either
direction, in the periods of intensive moultinL; may talcr place in the
different populations of the animal,.
The diet of sea otters is far from being 1'ully investigated,
as information on its composition is limited to tlle results of coprological
analysâ.N and observations on t;.e animals when feeding in natural
conditions. '.l'hei.e is no consensus of oninion on tne predominance
of any particular components in •the diet. 5 o;.ie investi- e,tors hold
that tlle chief iteiris are invertebr.ates; others, that they are'fishes.
It has been found that in the Kolnand.ortikie.Islands rt^;ion the
chief dietary items are seâ-•urchins .(59i}, nlolluscs (23.3;., nlos^ly
bivalves), ar,d crustaceans (ve.rious s;:ecies of crabs, 10;.,), with.a
few fis h .:pecic: s il^ :I.r.s t 1^].clec. ;.occasionall.y other itcms are included,
suell as hyd.roids, fragments of barrizclc: slic l].^,, --rc:,n,Lir,s_ of al,al
tl:e.l].i., pehbles, grit, etc. '1i;.ucLl observations on the feedilc„ of
:Iea O'l;i.C?r:i-in that re,C;l.on add Uc'l;opu.LiGs an(. J.i!$11C:3 `11UR1)4ucker0, sand
ee].e, ce.pelà.c,) to tile' list. ,c:aaonal variation., are oi,:.ea-vecl in tue
i.111il,ly of s
kic1u i.'
:;L lttcl•J: iii winter it cu.
ca.-
'
cra.!>s,
^;mu oci.opnl;acE; ,,..i,,o n.ddo6.
ux.0hi.n;i n.ild