564 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



LUKANIN AND KITOVI. 



Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries were visited in the evening. The 19 typical harems 

 under the cliffs of the former contain to-day 290 cows. Two dead cows are lying at 

 the foot of the cliffs, and there are 17 dead pups. These are on the ground most 

 closely watched, and yet none of the deaths have been observed. One of the dead 

 cows has died since the morning of the 15th, when the count of cows was made on 

 this rookery. 



The Amphitheater of Kitovi has 556 cows this evening in 46 harems. This was the 

 original number of bulls in the space. There are, however, now about 10 unoccupied 

 bulls. Some of these are the old stagers present since the first. A number of the 

 harems have been formed near the beach by younger bulls, which have established 

 themselves since the season started. The harems are climbing back or "spreading," 

 so that they occupy much more space, though there are fewer cows. 



On Lukanin is seen a feature which did not appear last year, namely, the estab- 

 lishment of harems at low tide, which, when the tide becomes high, are partially 

 submerged, sometimes wholly so, in water. There are 5 of these to-night under the 

 cliffs. The wet shivering pups are on the rocks calling their mothers, which are 

 held by the bulls in the water. 



This has evidently attracted pups to the water earlier this year. There are wet 

 pups by the dozen, and in two places they are playing in the water. Occasionally a 

 pup gets out a little distance, but for the most part they take a dip and then sit 

 scratching themselves on the rocks. 



MR. LUCAS'S NOTES. 



Harem No. 25 has now 31 cows. In this and 2 adjoining harems there are 60 

 pups. The total number of cows present at any one time has been 50. 



There are no cows on the hill to the north of Old John's Eock, where there were 

 harems last year. Reef Rookery shows everywhere shrinkage from the points last 

 year. The largest mass near the big pond is very thin and has a break in it. The 

 seals fall far short of the crosses on the Reef at every point. 



JULY 20. 



Mr. Lucas and I went this morning to make a count of the harems in Zapadni 

 rookery. By dint of much stone throwing and clubbing we were able to reach points 

 of observation from which a fairly accurate count of the harems could be made. The 

 total number of harems found was 458. This large falling off is in part due in all 

 probability to greater accuracy in counting the harems on the flat above the beach. 

 The count in this respect for last year was unsatisfactory, as near approach was cut 

 oft' by the idle bulls. 



The greater part of the decrease in number of harems is, however, plainly due to 

 shrinkage in the rookery. Where the harems were noted as falling away from Mr. 

 Townsend's crosses 100 to 200 feet last year, they this year fall away 100 to 200 yards. 

 In most cases there is only a slight thickening of the narrow line of harems at the top 

 of the bowlder beach to indicate the masses of seals which extended back to the crosses. 

 There are but 4 masses of seals of any considerable size above the line of the beach. 

 The most important of these are the 2 gullies, characterized last year as " death traps." 



