the Pribilofs while the females go 

 the farthest south. 



Soon after the arrival of the 

 cows on the islands, the jet-black, 

 blue-eyed seal pups are born. Each 

 mother seal knows instinctively 

 which pup is her own, and will have 

 nothing to do with an orphan, 

 which will die. 



Once the future of the herd has 

 been assured and the seal pups have 

 learned to swim and forage for 

 themselves, the seals of the Pribilof 

 Islands leave for their winter stay 

 at sea. 



The Alaska fur seal is an eared 

 seal, medium-sized, with thick and 

 silky fur. Upper parts are black, 

 shoulders and neck gray, under- 

 parts reddish brown. When swim- 

 ming, he carries his head high out 

 of the water. His upper lip has 

 a yellowish white and gray mus- 

 tache of long stiff bristles. Males 

 average about 6 feet in length, and 

 weigh from 300 to 500 pounds, 

 though some may tip the scales at 

 700. Females are a good deal 

 smaller and have gray fur over the 

 back. When on land the fur seal 

 is the most active of the seals. 



Aleuts, Eskimos, and Indians are 

 permitted to take fur seals by pe- 

 lagic sealing (killing at sea). No 

 one else may hunt them. 



Other seals — Other species of 

 seals in Alaska's waters are the Pa- 

 cific harbor seal, the ringed seal, 

 the ribbon seal, and the Pacific 

 bearded seal. The first of these, the 

 Pacific harbor seal, is the most 

 abundant, and is the only hair seal 

 found in southern Alaskan waters. 

 This seal is sometimes called the 

 leopard seal because of spots on its 



yellowish gray coat. The ringed 

 seal has small yellowish rings or 

 patches on its coat, and is like the 

 harbor seal in build and size. It 

 is the common seal of the Arctic. 

 The dark-brown ribbon seal has 

 yellowish streaks around its neck, 

 forelegs, and rump. It lives along 

 the shores of Bering Sea, and little 

 is known of its habits. The 

 bearded seal gets its name from a 

 tuft of white bristles down each 

 side of its muzzle. Not very nu- 

 merous, ft lives in Arctic waters. 



Seals have long been the staff of 

 life for the Eskimos of the far 

 North. 



Sea lions — Sea lions are common 

 along the Aleutian chain, on the 

 Barren Islands, in Prince William 

 Sound, and on some of the South- 

 eastern islands. Sea lions prefer 

 quiet inlets and bays, particularly 

 during the winter season, where 

 they are sheltered from the rough 

 seas. Males are usually twice as 

 large as females, and often measure 

 more than 10 feet and weigh as 

 much as a ton. Their hides have no 

 commercial use, and even the na- 

 tives no longer hunt them. 



Walrus — Called valross or whale 

 horse by old Norse sailors, this un- 

 gainly mammal summers in the Arc- 

 tic Ocean and winters in Bering 

 Sea. The law now prohibits the 

 killing of walruses in Alaska, except 

 by natives for food and clothing or 

 by others for emergency food. 

 Killing for ivory dlone^ even hy na- 

 tives^ is not allowed .1 and ivory can 

 he exported only as -finished articles 

 of hwndicraft. With these restric- 

 tions, the Pacific walrus, whose 

 tusks sometimes measure 39 inches, 



38 



