GLOSSARY 



The following terms used in fur seal re- 

 search and management on the Pribilof Islands 

 have special meanings or are not readily 

 found in standard dictionaries. 



checkmark a notch, slit, hole, or other 

 mark made on a seal flipper when a tag 

 is applied, to insure later recognition of 

 an animal which has lost its tag. 



clinch or clinching The device or action 

 by which metal tags applied to seal flip- 

 pers are fastened. A metal point is bent 

 over a narrow band in order to form a 

 closed ring. 



drive The act of surrounding and moving 

 groups of seals on land from one location 

 to another. 



harems, where parturition and impreg- 

 nation usually take place, and where 

 females nurse their young until autumn. 



round The sequence in which hauling grounds 

 on the Pribilof Islands are visited in 

 order to collect seals for harvest. Current 

 practice is to make a complete circuit 

 or round of the hauling grounds in 5 days. 



round-up The act of surrounding and col- 

 lecting seals to be driven for harvest, 

 tagging, or other purposes. 



tagged Describes a seal having an in- 

 scribed metal tag or tags attached to one 

 or more of its flippers. 



hauling grounds An area, usually near a 

 rookery, on which nonbreeding animals 

 congregate. 



haul out The act of seals moving from the 

 sea to a rookery or hauling grounds on 

 shore. 



homing tendency The inclinitation of 

 seals to return to the rookery where they 

 were born. It is expressed as a per- 

 centage by comparing the number of 

 tagged seals in a specific group that were 

 found on their natal rookery with the 

 number that were found on some other 

 rookery or island. 



known-age Applied to seals for which age 

 is definitely known because they bear an 

 inscribed tag or have a certain com- 

 bination of tag scar and checkmark. 



rookery Breeding ground and nursery 

 where adult males and females form 



tag- lost A term applied to a seal that is 

 known to have been tagged because of a 

 checkmark and, in some cases, a tag 

 scar but no longer has a tag. 



tag scar a hole or torn area near the 

 usual tag site on a seal's flipper. Tags 

 fall out because of poor clinching or 

 wear and are torn out by catching in 

 rock crevices or driftwood. Possibly some 

 are torn out by the tagged seal. 



tagged to untagged ratio The number of 

 tagged seals compared to the number of 

 untagged seals, usually expressed as a 

 decimal fraction. Example, 5:20, ratio 

 = .25. 



tag lost to tag ratio The number of seals 

 that have lost tags as compared with the 

 number retaining tags. Usually expressed 

 as a decimal fraction. 



55 



