THE BIRTH OF A PUP. 317 



ARDIGUEN. 



Harem A had 7 cows; B, 29; 1 afterwards proves to be the young male noticed 

 at our first visit to this point; the bull is still after him. Eoused up by our approach 

 the bull seeks to drive him out. The bachelor finally goes into the next harem 

 and works his way down to the water. Harem C has 43 cows, E has 25, and F has 

 16. There are other harems below, but they seem to have a fair proportion of pups at 

 hand. But for these five harems, which contain 110 cows, there are 132 pups in sight. 

 Thirty-eight of them are playing in a group above the highest harem. 



THE BIRTH OF A PUP. 



While counting the harems a cow gave birth to a pup very close at hand. 

 Attention was first called to the event by a copious discharge of water from the cow, 

 which ran down the rocky slope. The hind flippers of the pup were seen first. The 

 cow was very uneasy, changing her position frequently, but chiefly keeping a sitting 

 posture. In about two minutes, and apparently with no very great effort, the little 

 fellow was born hind flippers first, evidently not the usual way. The mother quickly 

 turned herself about, tearing off the cord and freeing the little fellow from his covering. 

 She nosed over him, but made no attempt to lick or otherwise dry the pup, which 

 almost immediately began wriggling about. The mother bleated over it like a sheep 

 and seemed very much excited. A cow near by reached over, but was snapped at 

 savagely by the newly made mother. The old bull came by and sniffed at the little 

 fellow with a mild show of interest. The pup was on a slippery, slanting rock, and 

 every movement it made caused it to slip down. The mother took hold of it by the 

 neck, just as a cat would take her kitten, and dragged it up to her side. She would 

 draw its head up to the teat, but it was some time before any very definite attempt 

 was made to nurse. Later on it did so, as the mother seemed very anxious it should. 

 She finally moved up to a dry place and drew the pup up after her. A neighboring 

 pup coming by was driven off by the mother. 



In another harem a cow was seen to pick up a pup by the back of the neck and 

 carry it clear across the harem. She laid it down and apparently paid no more 

 attention to it, though the little thing remained near her. 



One cow in harem A seemed to have a cough. Every few minutes she would be 

 doubled up with a fit of coughing. 



ZOLTOI. 



On the rocks at the angle of Zoltoi Sands there is a half bull very badly cut about 

 the breast and across the shoulder; the skin is much swollen, and the animal seems 

 to be badly injured. 1 Another bull has a number of bad shoulder cuts. Still another 

 drags his hind flippers as if injured in the back. This bull was killed for examination 

 and found to have the pelvis crushed. 



This point seems to be a sort of hospital for the derelicts of Gorbatch. Their 

 wounds, as far as evident on the surface, are the result of fights. Tliey have 

 probably been whipped and driven out of the breeding grounds. 



1 This bull was afterwards found dead and the skeleton taken for museum purposes. 



