| Abstract: | Instantaneous sampling of eight behavior categories for a captive mother sea otter (Enhydra lutris) and her four pups was conducted continuously during the first three months following each pup's birth. Initially, pup-grooming and rest occupied the largest proportion of the mother's time. Despite a steady decline in the amount of time the mother spent pup-grooming, the mother continued to groom the pup a substantial amount of time three months after the pup's birth. The proportion of time the mother spent resting, self-grooming, or swimming did not change significantly over the study period, suggesting that these behaviors are important to the mother's self-maintenance. The newborn pups' behaviors were initially limited to rest, active, and nursing, with large proportions of time spent resting and nursing. A significant increase in self-grooming occurred regularly by week 2, followed by increases in swimming (week 3), diving (week 6), and feeding (week 7). Three months after birth, the pups' behavior budgets were similar to their mother, with the exception that pups self-groomed substantially less than their mother self-groomed. The lower proportion of pup self-grooming may be due to the continued close proximity to their mother in captivity, which afforded extended association, and allowed the mother to continue to perform this complex behavior for the pup. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
