316 ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY 



have short stiff hair and are of no value for fur. The harp seal, 

 or Greenland seal, Phoca groenlandica, is highly prized, the 

 value of the catch sometimes reaching nearly half a million of 

 dollars. 



The fur seals and the sea-lions belong to the family Otariidce. 

 The legs of these animals, while well adapted for swimming, are 

 still of some use on land, so that some of them can travel quite 



FIG. 135. A fur seal, Callorhinus alascanns, male, the herd on the beach 

 in the background. (Photograph by G. A. Clark.) 



rapidly, though awkwardly, for a considerable distance. The 

 fur seals, genus Callorhinus, are by far the most important 

 members of the group. The value of the catch for 1910 was 

 $437,000, and for 1911, $423,000. They are found on land only 

 on certain islands in the Bering Sea where they come for breed- 

 ing. Early in the spring the old males arrive on the rocky 

 shores of the islands and await the females, which begin to come 

 early in June. Each male gathers around him a group of 



