Table 38. --Recoveries in 1968 of male seals tagged on St. Paul Island, 24 June to 18 July 1968 according to hauling ground 



Date of 

 tagging 



Hauling 

 ground of 



Effective 



tags 

 (X-series) 



Hauling ground of recovery— 



NEP{west) I NEP(east) | ZAP | TZR | REEF | L-K | POL | ZAP(SG) | NOR 



Number Percent 



5 



1 



11 



1 

 11 

 2 



9 

 1 

 3 

 16 

 1 



15 



1 



6 

 2 

 3 



2 



2 



3 



35 

 1 

 1 

 6 

 1 

 2 



20 



226 



U NEP(east)-east side of Northeast Point; NEP(west)=west side of Northeast Point; Z.^P=Zapadni; TZR=Tolstoi-Zapadni Reef; 

 REEF=Reef; L-K = Lukanin-Kitovi; POL=Polovina; ZAP(SG) = Zapadni, St. George Island; NOR=North; ZAP PT = Zapadni Point; ARD=Ardiguen. 

 Zapadni Point and Ardiguen are inaccessible areas where seals are not driven and killed. 



2/ Does not include one seal tagged on REEF on 24 June and recovered in 1968 {date unknown) on Southeastern Rookery, Medny 

 Island, U.S^S.R. 



were recaptured and killed within 2 weeks of 

 tagging, 68 percent were taken by the end of 

 the killing season in 1968. 



Telemetry 



Radio transmitters were placed on young 

 male fur seals on St. George Island in 1967 

 and on St. Paul Island in 1968. Five seals 

 were radio-tagged each year, and each was 

 also double-tagged on his front flipper with 

 cattle-ear tags so that he could be identified 

 if the transmitter was lost. 



In 1967, the transmitters were dipped in 

 Tygon-' epoxy, wrapped in Scotch electricians 

 tape, and placed around the neck of the seals. 

 The radios tended to short out and not function 

 because these materials were not waterproof, 

 and antennas were broken, presumably by seals 

 accidentally falling against rocks. The longest 

 period of transmission in 1967 was 3 days 

 from a seal that moved from the hauling 

 ground on East Rookery to that on North Rook- 

 ery on St. George Island. 



A nylon harness used in 1968 stayed on well 

 and did not seem to impede the movements of 

 the seals. Though the transmitters were potted 

 in dental acrylic and silastic rubber, many of 

 them leaked. The longest transmission was 

 9 days, from a seal that was tagged and stayed 

 on Reef hauling ground, St. Paul Island, until 

 accidentally taken in the kill on the 9th day. 

 This seal was driven to the killing field twice 

 but always returned to the area where it was 

 tagged. Other recoveries were: (1) A seal 



3 

 Trade names referred to in this publication do not 



Imply endorsement of commercial products. 



that was harnessed but not radio-tagged on 

 Reef hauling ground on 1 July and recovered 

 there on 2 August; (2) a seal that was tagged 

 on Northeast Point hauling ground on 6 July 

 and recaptured on Ardiguen Rookery on 1 1 July; 

 and (3) a seal, with a harness and identification 

 tags, that was driven to the killing field from 

 North hauling ground, St. George Island, on 

 26 July, and then released. The tag numbers 

 of the latter were not recorded, but the seal 

 had been harnessed and tagged on Tolstoi 

 hauling ground, St. Paul Island, on either 8 

 or 1 3 July, 



ADULT MALE SEALS ON THE HAULING 

 GROUNDS 



Adult males found on the Pribilof Islands 

 during the breeding season can be classified 

 as territorial or nonterritorial. The former 

 establish and defend territories, whereas the 

 latter, though similar in body size and other 

 characteristics, roam freely and are usually 

 on hauling grounds. 



In 1965, 250 territorial males from rook- 

 eries were killed for a study of adult males 

 (Johnson, 1968). This study was continued in 

 1967 when 100 nonterritorial males were 

 killed on the hauling grounds. Table 39 sum- 

 marizes the ages of the seals. 



The study of 100 nonterritorial males killed 

 in 1967 lends support to a traditional belief 

 that adult males on hauling grounds are too 

 young to compete for or maintain control of a 

 territory. According to the age composition of 

 these animals, most of the large males on 



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