seen in Unimak Pass (sector-zone 1-8) north 

 of Billings Head 17-18 August, Three thin 

 animals 7 to 8 years old were collected. 

 Adult males occasionally were seen in late 

 August and early September within 40 miles 

 of the Pribilofs. 



During the 6-year period, fewer male seals 

 were collected off California, Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, and British Columbia than off Alaska 

 (table 3). The high proportion of males (11.2 

 percent) collected in 1958 is the result of 

 collections made in the Gulf of Alaska. Of 897 

 seals taken off Alaska in 1958, 157 (17.5 

 percent) were males while only 1 1 (1 .8 percent) 

 of 606 seals collected off California, Oregon, 

 and Washington were males. 



Older males remain in northern waters 

 from Cape Ommaney north and west across 

 the Gulf of Alaska and south of the Alaska 

 Peninsula in winter and spring, and in the 

 Bering Sea during summer and fall. The 

 females and young males winter from British 

 Columbia south to California. Except for a 

 sick 8-year-old taken off Washington in 1959, 

 all males collected off California, Oregon, 

 Washington, and British Columbia from 1958 

 through 1963 were 5 years old or younger. 



Pairing at Sea 



In 1963, special efforts were made to collect 

 information on the pairing of males and females 

 at sea. Of 25 pairs observed, 21 were seen 

 within 50 miles of the Pribilof Islands; the 

 majority were found less than 20 miles off- 

 shore. 



Six of the males and 10 of the females were 

 collected. The males were 5 to 1 5 years old, 

 the females 4 to 1 5 years. 



The fact that most of the males were re- 

 luctant to leave their females made collection 

 of some of the males possible. The first pair 

 was sighted 10 July, 45 miles southwest of 

 St. George Island. The female was killed on 

 the first shot and left in the water. Though 

 the female was dead, the male would not 

 leave her, but persisted in staying nearby 



until wounded and finally killed. Behavior of 

 the male indicates that the pairing was not 

 a coincidence and that the male was interested 

 in mating. 



Except for one 15-year-old, the males were 

 5-9 years old and weighed from 52 to 110 kg. 

 Few males of these ages are found on the 

 rookeries until after breakup of the harem 

 structure in late July. Presumably, they are 

 not yet capable of holding a harem. For this 

 reason, many may attempt mating at sea. 

 Because he weighed only 155 kg,, the 15-year- 

 old male also may have been unable to hold 

 a harem. 



Of the 10 females collected, 9 were post 

 partum and 1 was nuUiparous. Four of the 

 post partum fennales had nnature follicles 

 in one ovary; six had a ruptured follicle or 

 forming corpus luteum. The strong attraction 

 of the males to the females is difficult to 

 understand in view of the fact that six of the 

 females had probably mated. Either there 

 are females in estrus at sea or the observed 

 behavior is an extension of that shown by 

 young males toward females on land. Whether 

 fur seals can successfully copulate in water 

 is unknown. 



In general, the females did not seem to 

 belong to any particular category. Only one 

 was in poor physical condition, and the others 

 were a mixture of nulliparous, primiparous, 

 and multiparous animals. 



Tag Recoveries 



The pelagic tag recovery rates for 1958-63 

 are compared in table 4. 



Of 43 tagged seals collected in the Bering 

 Sea in 1963, 8 were males and 35 females 

 (table 5), 



Size and Reproductive Condition 



Size . --Lengths and weights of the seals 

 collected are given in tables 5-14, appendix A. 

 The fact that pregnant fur seals are slightly 



Table 3.— Male and female se 



collected at sea 



