308 



U.S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



A great many iron-branded bulls that had been reserved as 3-year- 

 olds in 1923 were observed holding large harems. Some were seen 

 also on the hauling grounds throughout the season. The latter no 

 doubt were late arrivals that did not feel strong enough to fight for 

 harem positions. 



Number of harem and idle iuUs, approximate ratio of idle J)uUs to liarem hulls, 

 and average harem, 1933 



AVERAGE HAREM 



The estimated average harem for St. Paul Island (40.94) shows an 

 increase of 2.73 as compared with figures for 1932; for St. George 

 Island (41.01), an increase of 1.80; and for the two islands (40.96), 

 an increase of 2.57. 



An average harem of approximately 41 indicates an ideal condition 

 for breeding requirements on the roolveries of both islands. This 

 should continue to result in a maximum increase in the growth of the 

 herd. The slight increase in the average harem over 1932 was un- 

 doubtedly due to the dying off of a great many of the bulls reserved 

 as 3-year-olds in 1923. In that year a reserve of 10,000 3-year-olds 

 was made before the commercial killing was undertaken. 



The average size of the harem has been determined on the basis of 

 an average increase of 8 percent for the cows. Although the increase 

 m the number of cows for each particular rookery varies considerably 



