68 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



THE FOOD AND FEEDING (HKUM>S. 



The feeding grounds of the fur seals in Bering Sen lie to the south and west of the 

 Pribilof Islands, just oft' the-IOO-fathom curve, at a distance of from 100 to L'OO miles. 

 In the migrations the seals seem to follow in a general way this same curve 



The food taken by the seals in Bering Sea consists mainly of squid, pollock, and ;i 

 small smelt-like fish known only through the bones found in the stomachs of the seals. 

 On the migrations along the coast squid is again the chief diet, though occasional 

 salmon, herring, and rocktish are taken. This subject is more fully treated by Mr. 

 Lucas in Part III. 



THE A<;K OF TIN: SEALS. 



Of the age of the fur seals we know practically nothing, but one striking thing 

 about the fur-seal rookeries is the absence of auy animals which seem to be aged or 

 decrepit. On certain sand beaches and out-of-the-way places animals in poor condi- 

 tion were seen, which at first glance seemed to correspond to the class of aged and 

 infirm among other animals, but on dissection they were found without exception to 

 show injuries which fully accounted for their condition. Some had dislocated joints, 

 broken bones, injuries to the spine, buckshot wounds, and like troubles. None were 

 suffering from old age. 



Nor is this a thing to be wondered at. The severest strain which the fur seal 

 undergoes is the winter migration in Bering Sea and the North Pacific. An animal 

 weak or broken down from old age or injuries of one sort or another would succumb 

 first to the hardships of the sea and would not return. To the breeding rookeries and 

 hauling grounds are returned each spring only those animals which have possessed 

 the hardihood and strength to survive the adverse conditions of the winter. These 

 may be relied upon, unless overcome by accidents, to maintain themselves during the 

 summer, to be again sifted out in the struggle for existence which the ensuing winter 

 renews. 



THE FIK SEAL 1>U1>. 



Of all the different classes of animals the pups are the most conspicuous and 

 interesting. For the first two mouths of their lives they are always present on the 

 rookeries where they are born. Their black coats contrast sharply with the gray 

 stones and with the brown fur of their mothers. For a few days after the pup 

 is born it is watched over by the mother with a moderate show of interest, which 

 manifests itself chieMy in supplying it with nourishment and keeping it out of the 

 way of the clumsy bull. But before long the little fellow grows independent and 

 leaves t lie family circle, seeking the lee of a sheltering rock at a distance from the 

 harems. There it spends its time sleeping and playing with its companions. 

 Whether this "podding'' of the pups is a matter of choice or the outgrowth of the 

 instinct of self- preservation, the result is good, for it keeps the little fellows out of 

 the way of the fighting and trampling bulls. From the time when the pup joins 

 the pod it receives no attention from the mother except on her return from the sea, 

 when she feeds it. Her absences are at first brief, but as the pup grows older they 

 lengthen out. The pup gorges itself with milk while the mother is on land and goes 

 hungry until her return. 



