112 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Femalb Pup Fur Seals Branded on St. Paul and St. George Islands, 



1896 TO 1903. 



1 Believed to have been single bar across back. 



» All cows. 



' Includes 18 cows. 



■• Includes 100 cows. 



' Includes 7 cows. 



6 Includes 29 cows. 



Many records of " branding " after 1903 have been made, but they 

 refer in eveiy case, it is believed, to the marking of a bachelor reserve. 

 This was first undertaken in 1904 and continued up to and including 

 1911. In every case, with the possible exception of the first year and 

 irregular branding on vSt. George from time to time, permanent 

 brands were not used. The hair was simply clipped from a spot on 

 the back of the head so as to make the animal recognizable the re- 

 mainder of that season. Unfortunately this process has been called 

 " branding " almost always and has so confused the record of the real 

 hot-iron work that the truth is in some cases in doubt. 



A journal entry on September 25, 1901, was found which stated 

 " * * * one [cow was seen] with a brand just behind its front 

 flippers and another running parallel to its backbone, but a little to 

 one side." In commenting upon this, C. E. Crompton says : " I posi- 

 tively saw [a cow with] this same brand at Staraya Artil while 

 counting pups this year [1019]." 



No record of the use of this brand has been found, but it was prob- 

 ably in 1898, or else no record was made when the work was done. 

 Unfortunately the journal entries are usually very brief and do not 

 describe the character of mark at all. As, for instance, " October 10, 

 1901, branded seals at Little East, 127 branded." 



To have been a cow in 1901, the animal must have been born in 

 1898 or earlier. It is not likely that the odd brand was used on more 

 than one batch of pups, nor in more than one year. This would 

 make the cow seen by Mr. Crompton in 1919 at least 21 years of age. 

 This is three years more than the maximum age which has heretofore 

 been ascribed to a fur seal. 



In all, seven cows of the 1902 series were seen on the various rook- 

 eries in 1920. Facilities for observation over the great mass of rook- 

 ery areas are so poor, however, that this can represent but a small 

 fraction of the number which must have actually been in existence. 



It is most important to note that these animals were 18 years old, 

 unless by possible chance they were all from the lot branded on St. 

 George in 1903. when they would be 17. 'J'his is so highly improbable 

 that it may be dismissed. Thus the maximum age of the cow is 

 several years more than the most sanguine have previously suspected. 



