150 U. S. BUREAU OP FISHERIES 



DEVELOPMENT OF FOX HERDS ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS 

 FEEDING 



St. Paul Island. — The feeding of foxes in the winter season of 

 1925-26 was begun on November 13 and continued as long as any 

 lack of natural food made it desirable. ' The foxes were fed at sta- 

 tions established at various places on the island. At first the animals 

 consumed very little, but as the winter grew more severe they ate 

 more. With the approach of spring the quantity consumed was 

 smaller. The food consisted of rice, rolled oats, wheat, seal meal, 

 seal oil, and other ingredients, combined in suitable proportions and 

 made into mush and biscuits. Except for short periods, considerable 

 natural food was available on the beaches during the winter. 



St. George Island. — Fox feeding was begun on November 9 by 

 putting out biscuits and seal carcasses withdrawn from storage. 

 About 500 biscuits and from 5 to 10 carcasses were consumed nightly. 

 During a part of the fox-trapping season biscuits were not fed. At 

 all times the foxes readily took the food offered and ate all of it. 

 During the latter part of the season they seemed to prefer the biscuits 

 to the somewhat salty seal carcasses. A well-preserved dead walrus 

 was washed ashore at Garden Cove on February 16 and provided 

 excellent food. 



FOX-TRAPPING SEASON OF 1925-26 



During the season 705 blue and 20 white fox pelts were taken on 

 St. Paul and St. George Islands, a total of 725. The total number 

 taken in the 1924-25 season was 709. 



On St. Paul Island the regular trapping season began on December 

 13 and ended on December 20, 1925. In this period 66 blue and 17 

 white pelts were taken. Later, one blue pelt was secured from a fox 

 found dead, and two pelts were secured from white foxes killed in 

 accordance with the policy of eliminating as quickly as possible this 

 color phase. Eighty-six pelts were secured during the season. 

 Two hundred and eleven males and one hundred and fifty-five females 

 were marked and released for breeding. 



On St. George Island 638 blue pelts and 1 white pelt were taken 

 during the season, and 216 males and 215 females were marked and 

 released for breeding. 



The breeding reserve thus established on each island was aug- 

 mented, of course, by the number of animals that remained uncap- 

 tured in the course of the foxing season. 



REINDEER 



At the end of 1925 the number of reindeer on St. Paul Island was 

 estimated to be 225, while on St. George Island 60 were on hand. 

 During the year, 25 reindeer on St. Paul Island and 17 on St. George 

 were killed for food. 



FUR-SEAL SKINS 



SHIPMENTS 



In the calendar year 1925 one shipment of fur-seal skins was 

 made from the Pribilof Islands. The shipment was made up of 

 19,478 skins, as follows: From St. Paul Island, 252 taken in the calen- 

 dar year 1924 and 14,536 taken in 1925; from St. George Island, 136 



