MARINE MAMMALS — KELLOGG 301 



many coast villages. The reckless manner in which these marine 

 resources were exploited, however, can hardly be witnessed again 

 since these animals no longer exist in considerable numbers in most of 

 the oceanic areas where they were slaughtered during the past three 

 centuries. 



WEST INDIAN SEAL 



One of the first animals in the New World to bear the brunt of 

 man's destructive proclivities was the West Indian seal {Monachus 

 tropicalis). It is recorded that Columbus (Kerr, 1811, vol. 3, pp. 

 124, 327) toward the end of August 1494, while cruising among the 

 West Indian islands in search of a passage to the mythical province of 

 Cipango, lost sight of the other vessels of his flotilla, and anchored 

 off the south coast of Haiti. Sailors were sent to climb the rocky 

 islet of Alta Vela and to scan the horizon for the missing vessels. 

 On descending from these rocks the sailors came on a number of 

 seals asleep on the sands and killed eight of them. In such a manner, 

 the seals of the New World became acquainted with the civilized 

 white race. 



Spaniards from Yucatan and Englishmen from Jamaica before 

 1675 (Dampier, 1705, vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 26-27) sailed to the Scorpion 

 Islands north of Yucatan for the express purpose of killing these 

 seals for their oil. Sir Hans Sloane, who visited the Bahamas in 

 1687-88, was told that West Indian seals were so numerous on those 

 islands that fishermen took as many as a hundred iu one night. By 

 1843, however, this seal seems to have been restricted to the Pedro 

 Keys off the south coast of Jamaica (Lucas, 1891, p. 616), to the 

 Anina Islands lying between the Isle of Pines and Yucatan (J. A. 

 Allen, 1880, p. 721), and off the northern coast of Yucatan to the low 

 sand spits surrounded by coral reefs known as the Triangle Keys. 

 Large numbers of these seals were killed on Triangle Keys before 

 1856 (Lucas, 1891, p. 616). As late as 1900, however, a small colony 

 of not over 75 was found by E. A. Goldman to exist on these keys. 

 The present status of the West Indian seal is unknown. 



SOUTHERN SEA LION 



Seals in the Southern Hemisphere, however, were not accounted 

 an article of commerce until the leading seafaring nations of the 

 world began the active exploration of the coasts of South America. It 

 was not until these early navigators had sailed southward along the 

 coast beyond the present boundaries of Brazil that the southern sea 

 lions {Otaria flavescens) were discovered. These animals congregate 

 during the southern summer on their breeding grounds which are lo- 

 cated along the coasts of South America mostly south of the La Plata 

 River on the Atlantic side and as far north as northern Peru on the 

 Pacific side, as well as on the Falkland and Galapagos Islands. 



