ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES 345 
PUPS AND COWS 
There were no indications of a shortage in the number of cows re- 
turning to the islands this season. Rookery areas continued to expand 
to such an extent that it seemed probable that the estimated number 
of cows had returned. A considerable expansion of areas, however, 
does not necessarily mean that any greatly increased number of cows 
has appeared. Newly expanded areas cover a large ground, but these 
areas are not as thickly populated as the main portions of the rookery. 
Inasmuch as it is now impracticable to make a count of the pups 
on all rookeries, it is necessary in this computation to continue to use 
the average rate of increase of 8 percent in the number of cows and 
pups, as determined by actual counts from 1917 to 1922, inclusive. 
This method gives a fairly accurate estimate of the growth of the herd, 
although it now appears likely that the rate of increase may be smaller 
as the size of the herd as a whole increases. It would seem, also, 
that there may be a considerable increase in the proportion of dead 
to living pups as the herd increases and rookery areas expand and 
become more congested. 
This season the pups were paddling in the water and learning to 
swim several weeks earlier than usual. Apparently they were affected 
by the hot weather. Although they were not as large or strong as 
they ordinarily are when learning to swim, there was probably no 
increase in death rate because of this, as there were no heavy storms 
at the time. 
Inasmuch as most of the cows have but one pup, the number of 
cows on the rookeries is the same as the number of pups. 
Distribution of pups on the Pribilof Islands, Aug. 10, 1936, and comparison with 
distribution in 1985 












1936 1935 1936 
sian L D Total P Total 
iving ead ota ercent ota z 
pups pups pups dead pups pups Increase 
St. Paul Island: 
STE O VA eee Le ee ae eek 17, 174 256 17, 430 1.47 16, 139 1, 291 
WGKA ines awe one tow ne eee 8, 244 183 8, 427 Pig 7, 803 624 
(Conbateh sea eet oe gee ees 43, 875 381 44, 256 . 86 40, 978 3, 278 
IAT GIP TONE eee oe ee ee 4, 086 100 4, 186 . 2.39 3, 876 310 
12 oye) RE Ae eb oe ie me aa 87, 597 1, 298 88, 895 1. 46 82, 310 6, 585 
SUOTA BIC) at ee SR ie Ries ee ee 26, 539 664 27, 203 2.44 25, 188 2,015 
Lagoon (actual count) __------------ 09) |3 eee DOM See ae Bite 115 —56 
BR OISCOL = eee ee eet Sen oe 51, 603 727 52, 330 1. 39 48, 454 3, 876 
FIEG OE NGG a5 vee a Sean pat ee eran Sheree 49, 426 865 50, 291 1. 72 46, 566 3, 725 
ttle 7apagnin 22 )e eset es es 24, 994 64] 25, 635 2. 50 23, 736 1, 899 
PanaanitRecteences. te ke ers ee 882 . 7 889 . 80 823 66 
IR olowina ee seen toes ere 17, 797 277 18, 074 1.53 16, 735 1, 339 
POLO; aGlidisme season tee eee gl 9, 713 183 9, 896 1.85 9, 163 733 
Hithleseolovina= esa es eee ee 3. 514 90 3, 604 2.51 3, 337 267 
HVIOT] Ovileep ee ee ete es Bas 6, 347 131 6, 478 2. 02 5, 998 480 
WOStOChhn ime sents ee Ne ee Fie 70, 614 1, 500 72, 114 2. 08 66, 772 5, 342 
WL OLA ees sees oe ee 422, 464 7, 303 429, 767 1.70 397, 993 31, 774 
St. George Island: 
DS FOVA NOL, | AEE a a nr aE ee 34, 580 491 35, 071 1. 40 32, 473 2, 598 
LAU VAMAn laps 22a Pokus Te 25, 743 682 26, 425 2. 58 24, 468 1, 957 
POEM ONG WOW 2 A URS la se Sear 3, 687 42 3, 729 1.12 3, 453 276 
SOU cheese = 2-2 Se ee eee 860 15 875 12 810 65 
EAST MVE eae, 2m A Ee ee 7, 915 121 8, 036 iol 7, 441 595 
RAS TAG See es aes See ee eee 22, 603 342 22, 945 1. 49 21, 245 | 1, 700 
Mio taleeees ate AL SLs 95, 388 1, 693 97, 081 1. 74 89, 890 7, 191 
Total (both islands)_==_----------| 51/7; 852 8, 996 526, 848 aL fll 487, 883 38, 965 




