wooden handles were used to capture the seals. 

 In other details, the methods used to select 

 and tag yearlings in 1966 were similar to those 

 described by Roppel, Johnson, and Chapman 

 (1965). The mean body length of males selected 

 as yearlings for tagging was 93.1 cm. (Males 

 less than 100.0 cm. long, tip of nose to tip 

 of tail, are considered yearlings.) Known-age 

 yearlings (tagged as pups) averaged 92.7 cm. 

 These mean body lengths are probably low 

 because many of the struggling seals could 



not be stretched to full length. The distribution 

 of lengths was similar for known-age seals 

 and for seals selected as yearlings (fig. 14). 



Figure 15 illustrates the method of meas- 

 uring a "yearling" seal before a tag is attached 

 to each front flipper. 



Males ages 2 to 4 . --Double 2S-series tags 

 were attached to 1,483 male seals selected by 

 approxinnate body length as 2-, 3-, and 4-year- 

 olds on St. Paul Island in 1966 (table A-18). Of 



ei 82 83 84 85 



Figure 14. — Body lengths of known-age and selected 

 yearling male seals, St. Paul Island, 1966. 



Figure 15. — Measuring a male seal selected as a, yearling for tagging, St. 



Paul Island, 1966. 



15 



