A Fish or an Animal 157 



than one-tenth of the herd now remains, and consequently 

 it yields but little revenue. 



On account of the polygamous habit of the fur seal, the 

 male population is in great part superfluous. The killing 

 of the bachelors for their skins, therefore, is not only a 

 source of revenue, but it is helpful to the well-being of the 

 fur seal herd. The sexes are equal in numbers at birth. If 

 all the males were allowed to reach maturity the quarrels 

 among them would be a source of great injury to the fe- 

 males, and often to the pups. As it is, many females 

 are killed, torn to pieces by competing lovers. 



About two weeks after the males are established in their 

 positions on the rookeries, the females begin to land, the 

 older ones coming first. Their arrival is the signal for a 

 general battle among the bulls, who are almost without 

 exception gashed and seamed with scars. Usually the 

 bulls near each other in time reach some sort of an under- 

 standing, and they will often unite forces to throw out 

 an intruder. It sometimes happens that while two bulls 

 are fighting for a cow, a third bull will step in and carry 

 her off. 



The average bull acquires a harem of from twenty to 

 thirty cows — as many as he can round up and guard from 

 intruders. The number varies from one to 100, and often 

 those least fortunate at first will make up a full household 

 before the late comers have arrived. The younger three- 

 year-old cows arrive for the most part in early July. The 

 cow seal is a very handsome animal, with a coat of soft 

 brown of varying shades. She is smooth, plump and cat- 

 like in her motions. Her voice is a loud bleat, like that of a 

 sheep, but varies much in pitch with the different individ- 

 uals. The females are more gentle than the bulls, but they 

 snarl and fight among themselves, and often bring even the 

 bull to terms by a sharp bite in the neck. At first the dis- 

 cipline of the harems is very severe, but as the season goes 

 on and the bulls grow tired and sleepy from fasting, the 



