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G. E. H. BARRETT-HAMILTON [ JULY 



hours throughout his season, and a very much greater number if any 

 large proportion of the cows received a second service. 



On this rookery there appears to have been only one bachelor 

 large enough to assist the bulls, but he was not larger than a big cow, 

 and does not seem to have exerted himself much : only on one occasion 

 was the presence of three bulls (the third being probably the large 

 bachelor) reported by the natives. 



These two South rookery bulls were neither of them apparently 

 very old : but one of them was a pretty large dark bull, with a light 

 wig; the other, a smaller bull, was, as has already been stated, 

 only permitted by his rival to remain at or near the edge of the 

 rookery. 



On the 24th July both these bulls appeared to be active, and each 

 was observed in coitu at 3 p.m. 



On the 25th July the smaller bull was noted to be looking thin, 

 and was seen in coitu at 11.30 a.m. He seemed to spend most of his 

 time in sleep, whereas the larger bull was more active, and constantly 

 examined his harem as if to find a cow in heat. 



On the 28th July, at 3 a.m., Mr. Volokitin (the Russian in charge 

 ■of the rookery) noticed only one bull on the rookery. 



By the 29 th July the two bulls had begun to go into the water 

 and to follow the females to the outlying rocks on the reef, and on the 

 30th, when I examined the rookery at 8.30 a.m., there were no adult 

 seals on shore, and no bulls to be seen anywhere. Mr. Volokitin told 

 me that one bull was on the beach on the 1st August, but there were 

 none to be seen when I visited it on the 2nd August. 



If the bulls were vigorous, the bachelors, down to the smallest of 

 them, were equally so. In the earlier part of the season no bachelors 

 were observed at the South rookery, but at the North rookery, as I have 

 already said, I found them, when I first arrived there, lying in a pod 

 by themselves apart from the breeding seals. As the season approached 

 its height, and the number of cows so increased and spread over the 

 ground as to render the task of the bulls who tried to restrain their 

 movements a hopeless one, the bachelors began to mix amongst the 

 females and to wander about among them much as they pleased. It 

 was at this time that I was able to satisfy myself of the correctness 

 of the observations, often described, of those who have seen the young 

 bachelors covering the cows. 



My attention was first drawn to this at 4.35 p.m. on the 30 th 

 June, by hearing the strange voice of a bachelor, neither quite like a 

 cow nor quite like a bull, at the Eeef section of the North rookery. I 

 found that this proceeded from a small bachelor who was trying to 

 cover a female, obviously in heat. Another and smaller bachelor also 

 tried to cover the female, and then a bigger one coming by drove the 

 small one away, and amused himself with the female until 5.3 p.m. She 

 then escaped from him, being evidently satisfied, but he pursued her and 



