Published monthly by The Agassiz Association, ArcAdiA: Sound Beach, Connecticut, 



Subscription, $1.00 a year Single copy, 10 cents 



Entered as Second-Class Matter June 12, 1909, at Sound Beach Post Office, under Act of March 3, 1897. 



Voli 



IX 



MARCH, 1917 



Number 10 



Sea-Lions. Their Life and Relations. 



BY GAYNE: T. K. NORTON, NIvW YORK CITY. 



With the thermometer registering 

 twenty degrees above zero and the water 

 in the tank freezing constantly — freezing 

 SO hard and rapidly that Keeper Keefer 

 is kept busy breaking ice — the sea-lions 

 of the New York Zoological Society in 

 Bronx Park think the time and condi- 

 tions ideal for swimming. Although 

 accustomed to the less rigorous climate 

 of California these animals have spent 

 the entire winter in their tank with no 

 ill effects ; instead, they have grown and 

 are in the best of condition. The out- 

 come of the experiment which, by the 

 way, is a very exceptional one, is all 

 that can be desired, and the Society is 

 justly proud of the animals. 



Flopping about in the snow and on 

 the ice, breaking through and vanishing 

 in the freezing water, the sea-lions en- 

 joy themselves to the fullest. Br-r-r ! 

 It makes us shiver to think of it. Early 

 each morning and afternoon Mr. Kee- 

 fer goes to the tank with a pail full of 

 fish. The animals have been expecting 

 him and at once bark their welcome. 

 As they are fed, each receiving between 

 ten and fifteen pounds of fish, they do 

 all sorts of tricks, and perform some in- 

 teresting and difficult catching and bal- 

 ancing feats. The fish are swallowed 

 whole and the feeding is well worth 

 watching. 



It was this very fondness for fish that 

 led the State legislatures of the extreme 

 west and the fisherman to declare war 

 on them a few years ago. The Califor- 

 nia fishermen claimed that salmon and 

 other food-fishes were being eaten in 

 such quantities by the sea-lions that 

 the catches were being spoiled. Orders 

 were finally issued to slaughter the ani- 

 mals by the wholesale. The killing be- 

 gan but some naturalists protested, and 

 proved that the "Lions" fed chiefly on 

 squids, shell-fish and devil-fishes, all 

 enemies of the fisherman, and not upon 

 the fishes valuable as food. The ani- 

 mals also include in their diet, for rea- 

 sons known only to themselves, many 

 round pebbles. 



In captivity all seals and sea-lions 

 live in fresh water, and a California 

 sea-lion in New York City is valued at 

 about $150. This species are very in- 

 telligent though the pelts of short, 

 coarse hair are of no value. 



The Order Pinnipedia (pronounced 

 Pin-ni-pe-di-a, meaning "fin-footed") 

 contains three groups of sea-faring ani- 

 mals, distributed widely through the 

 ocean waters of the world. They are 

 the seals, sea-lions and walruses. The 

 sea-lion has a long, supple neck, and 

 long, triangular front flippers that have 

 neither hair nor claws, but are simply 

 living paddles. Their hind limbs are 

 web-toed flippers. The ears are small 

 and sharp pointed ; and the heads are 



Copyright 1917 by The Agassiz Association, ArcAdiA: Sound Beach, Conn. 



