A white-headed male sea otter paddles on his back, patrolling his territory, while he rubs his round fuzzy face with his dexterous forepaws. Suddenly, he notices a young couple on shore and pops straight up in the water to have a better look. As two people stare back at him through a high-powered telescope, these three have one thing in common-curiosity. THE OTTER SPOTTERS A Wildlife Adventure in Alaska By Judy Swain Garshelis iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Judy Swain Garshelis All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4401-6130-8 Contents Foreword-How It All Began.............................ixPreface...............................................xviiAcknowledgments.......................................xixStarting Our Field Study..............................1Mishap In Sheep Bay...................................24Bears At Camp.........................................29Green Island..........................................49Hello Coast Guard-It's Us Again.......................75Breeding Season on Green Island.......................84The End of Our First Field Season.....................106Season Two Begins.....................................108A Swim, a Storm, and a Setback........................113Torrential Rain.......................................130Another Fishery Bites the Dust........................136Breeding Season on Green Island.......................139Cabin Fever...........................................155Stranded on Green Island..............................157Reflections...........................................159Major Findings of Our Study...........................161Publications from Our Study...........................169 Chapter One Starting Our Field Study "Stick with me and you will have a lot of firsts." That is what Turk said to me after he asked me to marry him. He had no idea how true this statement would be, for both of us. One of these "firsts" occurred in July 2007. I found myself, with Turk, in a fifteen-foot rubber boat (Zodiac) ... in the ocean ... in Alaska ... conducting counts of sea otters. As we slowed down the motor to go over the wake from a large boat, the water suddenly seemed to part and a humpback whale lurched vertically in front of us. Its eye stared at us as it rose and then slammed its head back into the water. The splash created two-foot waves, and our Zodiac spun sideways as it tilted forty-five degrees. As I quickly grabbed a rope on the side of the boat, my body slid toward the water. My heart was pounding and it was hard to catch a breath. We did not dare move the boat for fear of the whale coming up under us and knocking us into the water. The whale definitely was aware of our location. The waves settled down and my heart eventually started to beat in a normal rhythm. I should have known that we could not be in Prince William Sound without having a close call. These types of experiences occurred on a regular basis when we studied sea otters in 1980 and 1981. May 1980 My husband, Turk, and I went to Prince William Sound, Alaska to study sea otters for Turk's PhD project in wildlife biology through the University of Minnesota. Prince William Sound (see fig. 1, preceding Contents page) is located in south-central Alaska, about 290 miles southeast of Anchorage and is home to the northernmost population of sea otters. Sea otters range east to the Alaskan panhandle, southward to British Columbia and California, and west to Kodiak Island, the Aleutian Islands, and Russia. On May 9 we arrived in Cordova, Alaska, a small fishing town with a population slightly over two thousand, mainly men. From a distance the town looks quaint and colorful. Closer up, it takes on a more disheveled appearance with lots of bars, peeling paint on most of the buildings, upside down signs, and potholes in all of the three main roads. Everyone in the town walked around in rubber boots and raincoats. Turk and I planned to catch sea otters and study their social organization, breeding behavior, feeding habits, and movements. To help us get started, another student, Sheridan, came to help us. Prior to our arrival we had purchased a twelve-foot trailer, sight unseen, to live in when we would not be in our field camp. The previous owner of the trailer, Betty, met us at the Cordova airport and took us to the trailer, which was parked at a U.S. Forest Service warehouse. We went to all the trailer courts in Cordova looking for a site to keep the trailer, but none had vacancies. Betty then introduced us to the district Forest Service ranger in Cordova, Dick Groff, and we explained our predicament. Dick allowed us to temporarily hook the trailer up to the Forest Service warehouse. Later that day, as we attached the water supply to the trailer, water gushed out all over the floor. This was the start of our first Alaskan adventure-calamities, annoyances, and dangerous situations mixed with wonderful people and thrilling discoveries about a fascinating