The hunting party usually consisted 

 of three or four men. One of the gill 

 net boats was used to carry the party 

 to the beach, and a small skiff or 

 rubber life raft was used to land them 

 ashore at the fringe of the harvest 

 area. The rubber raft was used when 

 surf conditions precluded use of the 

 small boat. 



Sea lions were shot at fairly 

 close range with 30.06-c a 1 i b e r 

 sporting rifles equipped with open 

 sights. Military ammunition (ordi- 

 nary 30.06-caliber service ammu- 

 nition, full jacketed "ball") was 

 used and served satisfactorily. 

 Judgment was required in select- 

 ing animals for shooting. Those 

 shot near the edge of the water, 

 if not killed outright, managed to 

 get into the water and were lost. 

 It is extremely difficult to retrieve 

 carcasses of animals killed too 

 far from the water, since adult males 

 weigh up to 2, ZOO pounds and fe- 

 males up to 1,000 pounds (Kenyon 

 and Scheffer, 1953). Killing ceased 

 when enough animals, usually about 

 15, were down to supply a day's 

 work in processing. 



Manila or wire rope chokers placed 

 through slots cut in the neck hide were 

 secured to a hauling line attached to the 

 gill net boat. Animals were then pulled 

 from the beach into the water by the 

 boat. Once in the water the carcasses 

 were easily pulled to the boat- -either 

 hand over hand or by using a winch. 

 The hauling line was then freed and 

 passed ashore again, and the chokers 

 were used to secure the animals to the 

 gunwale of the gill net boat for trans- 

 port to the Arctic Maid. 



Reactions of Sea Lions to Hunting 



The reactions of sea lions to har- 

 assment were similar in pattern on all 

 of the rookeries hunted. Variations 

 were a matter of the degree to which 

 the animals reacted. This, in turn, was 

 dependent upon the stage of the breed- 

 ing season. Bulls and cows were least 

 wary at the height of the breeding 

 season. 



The hunting party usually landed 

 to one side of the group of sea lions 

 to be hunted, out of sight if possible. 

 Landing disturbed only nearby animals. 

 Animals exhibited only slight alarm 

 over the gill net boat when it was oper- 

 ated within 80 to 100 yards of the beach. 



At the first shots, most animals 

 showed considerable fright and many 

 bolted toward the water. The first rush 

 to the water comprised females without 

 pups, yovmg animals, and bachelor 

 bulls. Harem bvills and cows with new- 

 born pups were extremely reluctant to 

 leave and either did not move at all or 

 stopped their flight short of the water's 

 edge. Continued fire forced these ani- 

 mals into the water where they milled 

 slightly offshore and showed a strong 

 tendency to return. While in the water 

 the animals displayed great interest 

 in the activities on the beach but rel- 

 atively little interest in the boat or 

 skiff which was often nearer at hand. 

 Sea lions became increasingly wary 

 and frightened more readily after suc- 

 cessive days of shooting. At the first 

 volley of shots , all but the most stubborn 

 bulls and cows rushed immediately to 

 the water. Beaches were quickly cleared 

 when additional shots were fired. 



Continued hunting over the same 

 area caused an emigration to nearby 

 rocks or a lateral movement along the 

 beach if space was available. Emigra- 

 tion began after 3 to 5 days of hunting. 

 It was not a mass movement but was 

 observed as a perceptible thinning in 

 the ranks of sea lions each day. Young 

 animals were the first to move. The 

 pups either moved away because of 

 fright or were herded by the females. 



Harem bulls that were killed were 

 replaced by idle or bachelor bulls very 

 quickly. Mathisen (1958) reports that 

 on Chernabura Island harem bulls were 

 replaced within less than 30 minutes 

 after their death and frequently within 

 10 minutes. A striking example of this 

 replacement occurred on the Ugamak 

 Island rookery in Unimak Pass. One 

 area of this rookery was hunted in- 

 tensively for 9 days. On the first day 

 of the hunt, Z5 bulls and approximately 



