296 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



FLIP SPEAKS FOR HIS FOOD AS JNICELY AS 



ANY FOX TKKRIKR AND, LIKE THE TERRIER, 



EATS GREEDILY. 



carried high. They are lively, active 

 animals both in swimming and climb- 

 ing rocks, and they have been seen to 

 dive sixty feet into the ocean. The 

 males of some species grow to enor- 

 mous size, and have faces so lion-like 

 that the resemblance has given them 

 the popular name. Full grown males 

 are about seven feet in length, weigh 

 about four hundred and fifty pounds, 

 and are of a uniform dark brown color. 

 The Steller's sea-lion, the largest sea- 

 lion in the world, inhabits a few isolat- 

 ed spots on the Pacific coast, from Santa 

 Cruz to Bering Strait. An average 

 male specimen is eleven feet long, 

 stands six feet and weighs about four- 

 teen hundred pounds, with a girth of 

 nine feet, a lion-like head, coarse four 

 inch hair and canine teeth like a grizzly 

 bear, which are much used in fighting. 

 Among themselves they fight much, 

 but in the presence of man they are 

 timid and easily frightened. 



The seals, a sort of smaller cousin 



of the sea-lions, are a short-necked, fat- 

 bodied, low-lying, clumsy set of ani- 

 mals, not nearly as interesting as the 

 sea-lions. The front flippers are short 

 and square ended, covered with hair 

 and provided with claws. They have 

 no external ears, and the hair is of no 

 value save to the Eskimo. 



The fur seal which yields the beauti- 

 ful and costly fur is, in reality, not a 

 true seal, but a sea-bear or sea-lion, 

 quite like the California species. The 

 ringed seal, harbor seal, harp seal, 

 hooded seal and ribbon seal are the 

 other members of this branch of the 

 family. The little ringed seal is the 

 smallest of the North American species 

 and lives the farthest north. The com- 

 mon harbor seal is a good example of 

 the family because it is seen oftenest. 

 The harp seal is a handsome animal 



WINTER OR SUMMER, SEA-LIONS ENJOY THE 

 WATER. 



The day this photograph was taken there was a keen 

 wind and the thermometer registered ten degrees 

 above zero. 



The two photographs on this page were taken by 

 G. T. K. Norton and are published in The Guide to 

 Nature by courtesy of the New York Zoological So- 

 ciety. 



