FUR SEAL 



Male. — Upperparts black, gray over shoulders and front of 

 neck, brownish on face; flippers reddish brown; underparts 

 reddish brown. 



Female. — Upperparts gray; underparts rufous. 



Immature. — Glossy black above, washed with yellowish 

 brown below. 



Measurements. — Males much larger than females. Total 

 length, males, 75 inches, females, 50 inches; tail vertebrae, 

 males, 2 inches, females, 1.5 inches; hind foot, males, 21 

 inches, females, 16 inches; weight, males, 300-500 pounds. 



Geographical Distribution. — Pribilof Islands and other 

 localities in Bering Sea south to shores of California, in winter. 



Food. — Fish and squid. 



Enemies.' — Killer Whales. 



******* 



So much has been written on the life-history of the Fur 

 Seal that there is quite an extended literature on the subject. 

 A few of the most comprehensive and easily obtainable 

 sources are listed at the close of this handbook. 



Although Fur Seals swing far south of Alaska in winter, 

 they stay offshore and are not often seen. During the breed- 

 ing season, May to November, they are congregated on the 

 Pribilof Islands in large rookeries. The official government 

 report of 1926 gave the census of the Fur Seals on the Pribilof 

 Islands as 761,281. Fur Seals bear one pup, the baby Seal 

 arriving from June 20 to July 20. 



The Alaska Fur Seal of commerce is the plucked, dressed, 

 and dyed pelt during which process the long, hard guard-hairs 

 are removed to expose the soft, dense underfur. Although a 

 large number of these Seals are killed each year, under govern- 

 ment supervision, their fur is not as popular as it has been in 

 former years. Hudson Seal (dressed Muskrat) has been a 

 large factor in driving it from popular favor, and there are 

 many other cheaper furs which have come to take its place. 



Family Phocidae. Hair Seals or Earless Seals 



Hind legs incapable of rotation forward, poorly suited for 

 progression on land; forelimbs smaller than hind limbs; neck 

 short; external ear absent; upper incisors pointed; pelage 

 without underfur. This family includes the commonest 

 small Seals of temperate waters, the Harbor Seals. 



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