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FIELD MUSEUM NEWS 



August, 1933 



THE STORY OF AN EXPEDITION 

 TO COLLECT ELEPHANT SEALS 



By Julius Friesser 

 Staff Taxidermist, Department of Zoology 



The Hancock expedition to collect speci- 

 mens of elephant seal for a habitat group 

 to be installed at Field Museum sailed from 

 San Diego, California, on May 28, aboard 

 the yacht Velero III, owned and com- 

 manded by Captain G. Allan Hancock of 

 Los Angeles. Included in the party were 

 Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth, President of the 

 Zoological Society of San Diego, who with 

 Captain Hancock arranged for the expedi- 

 tion, and two members of the Museum's 

 taxidermy staff — Frank C. Wonder and the 

 writer. 



The Velero III, a vessel about 200 feet 

 long with a displacement of 1,000 tons, 

 arrived opposite the Mexican island of 

 Guadalupe, which lies off the coast of 

 Lower California, on the morning of May 29, 

 and preparations for the hunting of the 

 elephant seals began immediately. Because 

 of the extremely heavy surf running up to 

 the shore of the island it was necessary to 

 anchor the ship more than a mile out, and 



The animals had to be skinned immedi- 

 ately after shooting in order to preserve the 

 skins from decomposition, which sets in 

 with extreme rapidity. During our stay 

 of several days we took five specimens, 

 ranging in weight from a large bull of about 

 5,000 pounds to a young seal of 250 pounds. 

 Skinning, and beaming the skin, required 

 about eighteen hours' continuous work on 

 each full-grown specimen. In the midst 

 of this work an earthquake shook the island, 

 tumbling down huge boulders from the 

 3,000-foot cliff which rises behind the beach, 

 but fortunately none fell close enough to 

 injure members of our party. 



The skin alone of the largest specimen 

 weighs about 1,000 pounds, making a 

 difficult load to handle with the limited 

 equipment we could take to the beach. 

 The problem of transporting the heavy 

 and awkward cargoes to the ship was solved 

 with a large raft constructed by members 

 of the crew of the Velero III. The skins 

 were towed on this raft, pitching and 

 tossing in the heavy surf, to the side of 

 the yacht by a power tender. Frequently 

 it seemed that raft and power boat must 

 inevitably overturn, but they got through 



Elephant Seals 

 Scene on the "elephant beach," island of Guadalupe, showing part of herds numbering hundreds of world's 

 largest species of seals. Inset: A close-up view of one of the animals showing the proboscis from which the species 

 gets its name, "elephant seal." Photographs made on the Hancock Expedition to Guadalupe for Field Museum. 



go ashore in the small boats. These trips, 

 participated in by Wonder, myse'.f, and 

 some of the excellent sailors from the crew 

 of the yacht, proved perilous. At times, as 

 the surf boats stood on their beam ends, 

 and then plunged down from crest to 

 trough of huge waves, it seemed that the 

 small craft could not weather the seas. 



On the so-called "elephant beach" of 

 Guadalupe, and in other localities near-by, 

 we encountered great herds of elephant 

 seal, about 1,200 in number. These placid 

 animals seemed totally undisturbed by our 

 arrival, paying little or no attention as we 

 reconnoitred to select the most suitable 

 specimens for the Museum's purpose. They 

 showed no excitement even when, having 

 selected a specimen, we shot it and began 

 the work of skinning. One seal, in fact, 

 came up so close to us that it was in the 

 way, interfering with our work. The cows 

 and the bulls were found segregated in 

 colonies on different beaches, as they do 

 not mingle except in the breeding season. 



safely. HoLsting the skins to the deck of 

 the yacht likewise presented difficulties, and 

 the pelt of the large bull was almost lost 

 overboard. 



Within less than two weeks of intensive 

 work our objective had been accomplished, 

 we arrived back in the harbor of San Diego, 

 and shipped our specimens to Chicago. The 

 work of mounting them will soon begin. 



Until comparatively recently the elephant 

 seal seemed to be in danger of extermination. 

 In 1892, according to zoological records, 

 only two elephant seals remained alive on 

 Guadalupe, due to the demand up to that 

 time for seal oil. Thus it appears that after 

 being on the verge of virtually certain extinc- 

 tion, the herds have almost miraculously 

 recuperated to the present large numbers. 

 A curious feature of this species of seal is 

 its expandable proboscis or trunk from which 

 it derives the name "elephant seal." A 

 related species, the southern elephant seal, 

 which lacks the proboscis, is found in certain 

 Antarctic regions. 



AUGUST GUIDE-LECTURE TOURS 



During August the conducted tours of the 

 exhibits under the guidance of staff lecturers 

 will be given on a special schedule, as 

 follows: 



Mondays: 10 a.m.. General Tour; 11 a.m.. Halls 

 Showing Plant Life; 3 P.M., General Tour. 



Tuesdays: 10 a.m.. General Tour; U A.M., Halls of 

 Primitive and Civilized Peoples; 3 P.M., General Tour. 



Wednesdays: 10 A.M., General Tour; 11 A.M., Animal 

 Groups; 3 P.M., General Tour. 



Thursdays: 10 A.M., 11 A.M., and 3 P.M., General 

 Tours. 



Fridays: 10 a.m., General Tour; 11 A.M., Minerals 

 and Prehistoric Exhibits; 3 P.M., General Tour. 



There are no tours on Saturdays and 

 Sundays. 



Persons wishing to participate should 

 apply at North Entrance. Tours are free 

 and no gratuities are to be proffered. A new 

 schedule will appear each month in Field 

 Museum News. Guide-lecturers' services 

 for special tours by parties of ten or more 

 are available free of charge by arrangement 

 with the Director a week in advance. 



Gifts to the Museum 



Following is a list of some of the principal 

 gifts received during the last month: 



From Mrs. Ynes Mexia — 210 herbarium specimens, 

 Brazil; from Professor H. E. Stork — 225 herbarium 

 specimens, Costa Rica; from School of Forestry, Yale 

 University — a board oi Eucalyptus marginata (Jarrah), 

 .Australia; from Dr. E. E. SherfT — 78 herbarium speci- 

 mens, Hawaii and Argentina; from William A. Schipp 

 — 42 herbarium specimens, British Honduras; from 

 Stephen Varni — 5 specimens illustrating stages of 

 cutting a star from crystal; from James Manning — a 

 specimen of placer gold ore and a specimen of tin ore, 

 Alaska; from Johan Eriksen — a specimen of rhomben- 

 porphyry, Norway; from H. B. Conover — 2 sun grebes, 

 Brazil, and 3 birds for skeletons, Illinois; from Mrs. 

 W. W. Lietzow — a mounted snowy owl. North Dakota; 

 from Mrs. Grace Wiley — 2 tree frogs; from John G. 

 Shedd Aquarium — 65 fish specimens, Pacific Ocean; 

 from Edward Brundage, Jr. — 74 insects. North 

 Carolina, and a deformed woodchuck skull, Illinois; 

 from P. M. Miles — a Komodo lizard skeleton, East 

 Indies; from W. A. Olen and F. D. Hurley — a spectacled 

 bear, Peru; from P. F. Fullmer — a brown thrasher, 

 Illinois; from Lieutenant Ralph V. Strau-ss — a mounted 

 toucan. Canal Zone; from Mrs. Lillian Tilske — a 

 mounted least bittern; from James Simpson — 2 mounted 

 capercaillie; from Mr. and Mrs. John P. Kellogg — 

 117 birdskins, .\frica; from Colonel Lewis S. Thompson 

 — 3 specimens of batfish, near Marathon, Florida; 

 from I)r. Florentino Felippone — a red bat, Uruguay; 

 from Dan Clark — a starling skeleton, Illinois; from 

 Walter A. Weber — 3 bird skeletons. 



NEW MEMBERS 



The following persons were elected to 

 membership in Field Museum during the 

 period from June 16 to July 16: 



Associate Members 



Mrs. Carl Buehler, Miss Kate E. Chislett, Brode 

 B. Davis, Mrs. B. A. Eckhart, Mrs. George E. Frazer, 

 Mrs. John Roberts, Eugene M. Stockton, Mrs. Milton 

 W. Wilker. 



Sustaining Members 

 Daniel H. Bender 



Annual Memljers 



Miss Lillian D. Bargquist, L. R. Barton. Jay Bow- 

 man, Mrs. Giovanni Cardelii, John O. Carr, C. D. 

 DeBarry, Dr. C. J. DeBere. Dr. R. J. Hyslop, R. W. 

 Jackson, John H. Kraft, J. George Lutz. Howard 

 Mann, Peter F. McNamee, Mrs. F. S. North, William 

 F. Quarrie, Lester Roth, Theodore Rubovits, Mrs. 

 J. C. Ruettinger, Wayne Saggars, W. H. Shoemaker, 

 E. L. Wilson. 



Myrrh is an exudate from small trees 

 (Bahamodendron and Commophora) of the 

 torchwood (Bursera) family found in Nubia, 

 Somaliland, and Arabia (see exhibit in 

 Hall 28). 



Batik fabrics, and the process of making 

 them, are illustrated in the Javanese 

 exhibits in Hall G (Arthur B. Jones Collec- 

 tion). 



PRtNTElS BV FICkO MUSEUM PRESS 



