1899] THE HABITS OF THE NORTHERN FUR SEAL 33 



The rookery-ground is then largely occupied by pups and young 

 • breeding animals of both sexes. 



The following detailed observations made on the South rookery 

 will, I think, be found of interest. It is of course impossible to give 

 a complete set of continuous observations for the whole season, since 

 there were other rookeries to be visited, entailing long and often 

 tedious journeys, in which I was greatly dependent upon wind and 

 weather. Thus, on one occasion, it took Dr. and Mrs. Stejneger and 

 myself six days to make the journey of 21 miles by sea to the South 

 rookery from Nikolski, and during five of these days we were camped 

 on the beach under our boat waiting for favourable weather. My 

 notes have, however, been supplemented in many cases by observations 

 made on other rookeries, especially on the Kishotchnaya section of the 

 North rookery, where I spent several days (29th June to 3rd July) in 

 close observation of the seals. 



My first visit to the South rookery began late on the 23rd June 

 and ended on the 26 th June. There were then no bulls at the rookery 

 and no bachelors. On the morning of the 24th there were sixteen 

 females on shore, and their number was shortly afterwards increased 

 by the arrival of three more from the sea, making nineteen in all on the 

 beach. With these were eleven pups, and there was in addition a small lot 

 of about fifteen seals playing in the surf outside the rookery. During my 

 stay at the rookery the number of seals rapidly increased from 41 to 89. 



The females at the South, rookery might at this time have been 

 divided into three classes, that is, those who were on shore, the majority 

 of whom had pupped or were about to do so very shortly, those who 

 spent their time in the surf outside the rookery, and a very small 

 number of females who belonged neither to one nor the other of the 

 above classes, but were engaged in reconnoitring the beach with a 

 view to shortly landing. The members of this last class frequently 

 landed for a short time and then went into the sea a°ain. 



It was very evident that the numbers of the females in the surf, 

 as well as of those on the beach, were constantly being added to, chiefly 

 during the night. When a female arrived first she appeared to join the 

 ranks of those playing in the surf. With them she remained for an 

 unknown period, and then came in to reconnoitre the rookery, probably 

 landing several times in a temporary manner before finally doing so 

 for the purpose of pupping. Probably, however, had there been a 

 number of bulls on the rookery, such females, having once thus landed, 

 would not have been allowed to leave again so easily. 



Mothers and Pups. 



The females on shore, certainly those who had pupped, seemed 

 to move about very little, and my observations of them lead me to 

 believe that they do not leave their pups for quite a considerable time 



3 NAT. SC. VOL. XV. NO. 89. 



