THE HARBOR SEAL 



as long as lie could remember, and his father 

 had called it Robin before him. The explana- 

 tion, however, is a simple one, for roMn or 

 robyn is the Dutch name for seal, and has fre- 

 quently been applied to reefs. For example, 

 DeKay speaks of a reef of rocks in New York 

 harbor '' called Robins^ Reef from the numer- 

 ous seals that are accustomed to resort there," 

 and it may be remembered that the Pilgrims 

 came to New England after a sojourn in Hol- 

 land. 



Although the harbor seal is a common and 

 characteristic animal of these regions, a crea- 

 ture of great bulk, sometunes weighing over 

 two hundred pounds, and attaining a length of 

 five feet, it is an animal of whose presence the 

 casual observer is generally quite unaware. 

 It belongs to the cosmopolitan group of hair- 

 seals that inhabit our eastern sea-coast as far 

 south as New Jersey, and increase in numbers, 

 both of individuals and of species, as one goes 

 north. Rarely a harp or a hooded seal strag- 

 gles to the Massachusetts shores, while on the 

 Labrador coast a full half-dozen different 

 kinds are to be found. All these are clad in 

 short, stiff, bristly coats, which lack the soft 

 under-fur, for it is only on the Pacific coast 



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