CAMPBELL ISLAND 263 



Sea-lion on the beach. 



elephant seals are left alone they seldom leave the spot, but they are not 

 motionless. Lying in every possible position, they scratch themselves now 

 here, now there, with the large claws of their fore flippers. These are not 

 rigid organs but are extremely flexible, and there is scarcely a part of 

 the body which they cannot reach. It is comical to see the crea- 

 tures scratch themselves under the chin or on the forehead. They lie 

 sublimely composed with closed eyes and wrinkled brows, their whole 

 appearance radiating deep reflection and supreme bliss. The long hind 

 flippers they will scratch against each other. Incidentally, the hair is so 

 loose that one can pluck it off by the handful. 



When moulting, the animals have a most odd appearance. A young 

 male, say, may have got new pale-grey fur on its head and back, the rest 

 of the body being still covered with the old pale-yellow hair. It will then 

 look as though covered with an old sack with holes in. Others present a 

 moth-eaten appearance. Any self-respecting museum would take steps to 

 remove such objects from its collections at the earliest possible opportunity ! 

 There is a rather wide range of colours, from a shiny dark-grey and pale 

 grey to a warm chocolate-brown. Older animals are all extensively 

 scarred. In the females the scars are particularly evident at the back of 

 the neck, where the male grips them by the teeth during mating. In the 

 males scars are mostly on the neck and head, but also occur on the body 

 — sure signs of fierce fighting. 



When we were there, in January, the animals which had resorted to 

 land were mainly the younger ones, the older individuals — male as well 

 as female — coming a little later. We therefore had to search for spe- 



