292 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



BIONOMICS 



HABITS AND BEHAVIOUR (GENERAL) 



Movement on the land is arduous and the sea Hons quickly lose their wind and sink 

 down to rest, often going to sleep when they do so. They may eventually cover what 

 must be for them considerable distances on the land: I have found them about half 

 a mile inland from the place where they must have climbed the cliffs, and quite out of 

 sight of the sea. I have seen a cow walking along a beach parallel with the water, and 

 followed by her pup ; her journey could not have been much less than half a mile and 

 it was accomplished in lengths of about a hundred yards with rests between. Reports 

 of sea lions being met miles inland and far above sea-level are not uncommon. The 

 animals are usually described as emaciated, but this condition might result from 

 starvation ensuing on the journey and is not necessarily a proof that some of the sea 

 lions "go inland to die". The rivers of the Falklands are all small and swift and sea 

 lions are not reported from them. The Australian species goes up rivers and has been 

 found far from the sea, and this may have given rise to the myth of the "bunyip": 

 the tale of the "yaquaru", a mysterious carnivore occasionally seen in the Paraguay 

 River (Falkner, 1774), might well be based on a wandering Otaria. 



The actual action of the legs is of course the same as in ordinary mammals, but the 

 soft tissues and tail extend so far towards the ankle joints that in walking the whole 

 hind quarters are swung forward with every step. The resulting gait is extremely 

 clumsy ; but if the animal is excited the pace is surprising — on a rough beach I should 

 expect an adult male to run, or rather gallop, as fast as a man can run. The adult males, 

 however, find movement on the land much more arduous than do any of the other 

 stages (Plate VI, fig. 2; Plate VII, fig. i). 



In the water Otaria byronia shows itself to be an expert swimmer and diver : it will 

 throw itself into the water from a considerable height and can fight its way offshore 

 against heavy surf. In swimming at slow speeds the large front flippers are used in a 

 rowing manner ; the hind-quarters and flippers are only brought into play when speed 

 is required ; they are then used with a twisting or sculling movement and the acceleration 

 produced is remarkable. When travelling at high speeds, and sometimes in pure sport, 

 Otaria will leap almost or completely from the water at each breath; but in such 

 evolutions it does not exhibit the beautiful clean action of the fur seal. The sea lions 

 spend a good deal of their time playing together in the water, when they go through 

 the most complicated motions with ease and grace: they are particularly fond of 

 swimming on their backs. 



In breathing while swimming the head is thrust well above the surface and the 

 animal makes an expiration which can be heard at some distance in calm weather; 

 inspiration may be accompanied by a rasping, whistling sound as in the Cetacea. When 

 a sea lion is swimming quietly about in the one place a large bubble of air will some- 

 times be expelled a perceptible time before the animal comes up to breathe: every 

 breath even may be expelled in this way. 



