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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



haunts and the sea is given them by appointed paths, from 

 which they are not permitted to stray to either side. The rook- 

 eries are haunted only by a few stragglers during the winter, but 

 at the beginning of spring the older and chief males of the herd 

 visit the place as if on a tour of inspection, swimming around 

 cautiously, then, if all seems safe, climbing upon the rocks and 

 examining everything carefully. The company increases very 

 slowly till about the first of June ; then, if the weather has become 

 warm, the bull-seals come up in large numbers and select their 

 " claims," consisting of a plot of ground about ten feet square for 

 each animal, which he must defend against all comers. Desperate 

 fights often take place for the possession of these little plots, at the 

 end of which the vanquished seal withdraws humbly, while the vic- 

 tor quietly takes possession of his conquest. It is said, according to 

 Mr. Clark, " that occasionally those few males who have been van- 

 quished in all their encounters, and are therefore unable to obtain 

 a resting-place or a wife, retire together to some distant beach, 

 there to bury their shame, far from the society of their fellows, 

 where they sit together gloomily, grievously wounded in body and 

 in temper." The cow-seals arrive in about two weeks after their 

 lords have taken possession of the grounds and selected the places 

 for their harems, and a " universal, spasmodic, desperate fight- 

 ing " takes place among the bulls. As the females come up, they 

 are met by the " bachelors," whose duty it is to escort them to the 

 beach and drive them up on the rocks as fast as they make their 

 appearance. Some of them seem to be looking for some particular 

 male, and will climb upon the rocks and call out and listen. As 

 soon as the female has got upon the sand, the nearest male ad- 

 dresses her with a noise like the clucking of a hen, bows to her 

 and coaxes her, until he gets between her and the water, when his 

 manner changes and he begins to drive her up with angry growls. 

 He is not yet sure of her, however, for the seals in the next line 

 above him are on the watch to steal the most desirable prizes that 

 their more fortunately situated fellows have captured. They take 

 them in their mouths as cats do their kittens. Sometimes two seals 

 contend for the same female at once, and in this case she gets ter- 

 ribly lacerated and sometimes torn in two. When the distribution 

 of females has been finished, the arrangement is permanent. Each 

 bull-seal keeps the mastery over his twelve or fifteen wives if he 

 is in one of the front rows, five to nine if he is in a back row, and 

 allows no intrusion on his domain. One old bull is mentioned by 

 Mr. Elliott that had forty-five females under his charge. 



The pups are born a few hours after the mothers have landed ; 

 each mother bringing forth one, seldom twins. The mothers show 

 but little fondness for their young, but can distinguish their cries 

 among the thousands, and each will suckle no other than her own. 



