FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 309 



approached, it hurriedly scrambled into the sea. We noted a dead 

 pup on this island on July 27. On June 17, a pup was swimming 

 near the beach calling for its mother. We answered its call, and 

 it responded several times by coming out on the sand at our feet, 

 but it retreated hastily when it learned its mistake, and finally 

 it swam out to sea. The pups have a plaintive, moaning call, 

 which is quickly identified by the mother. The adults have a 

 lower and more raucous voice. 



On July 27, a partially blind seal swam near the beach at Glen 

 Island. One eye was white, and the other was partly white. It 

 could see me only when it faced me squarely. 



On June 17, it was noticed that the seals were shedding their 

 hair. Old hair was found in their beds, where they had been 

 basking on the beach. At this time, some were a dirty yellowish 

 color; some were mixed, partly light and partly dark; and others 

 were all dark. Evidently, these color variations were stages of 

 pelage change. 



On June 24, 1937, a female seal was taken for a specimen at 

 Khvostof Island, and her pup was kept alive for a time. Part 

 of the navel cord was still attached, and it was evident that the 

 pup was recently born. It had the typical dark, spotted coat of 

 this species of seal. The mother weighed 220 pounds. 



As one would expect, the seal was much prized by the Aleuts, 

 and was used for food and for other purposes. Wetmore, writ- 

 ing of Unalaska and neighboring islands in 1911, stated that "The 

 hide is used for various purposes and oil is tried out of the blub- 

 ber. The gut is split and dried and used for many purposes. It 

 is sold in the store like cloth at about 15 cents a yard." 



Pusa hispida: Ringed Seal 



Russian (Siberia): Ak'-ec-pah (Buxton). 



Turner (1886, p. 206) implies that this seal occurs in the 

 Aleutians, but from his casual statement it is obvious that he 

 had no specimens to support his opinion. Nelson (1887, p. 262) 

 does not mention any locality farther south than St. Michael, 

 but there is a specimen in the National Museum (No. 227077) 

 that was obtained near Chogiung, Bristol Bay, by Hanna in 1913. 

 This is a seal of the ice floes and would not be expected to occur 

 regularly in the Aleutian district. Stragglers may have come that 

 far at times in winter with southward-drifting ice. 



Pagophilus groenlandicus: Harp Seal 



This is another seal whose reported presence in the Aleutians 

 must be seriously doubted. Turner (1886, p. 206) gives as its 



