722 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



are in equal numbers at birth, there are many males unneeded to maintain the 

 herd and provide for its continued growth. Instead of permitting the normal in- 

 crease of male animals, therefore, this sex is maintained at the most desirable ratio 

 by killing the surplus males for their fur. The fur is best on the 3-year-olds, and 

 the males of this age group comprise the bulk of the Pribilof take. The bachelors 

 segregate themselves from other seals on shore, and the job of kilHng the right 



(Courtesy Fouke Fur Co.) 



Fig. 34-3. The sealskins are heavily salted and packed in barrels for trans- 

 porting to the processing plant. 



animals is thus made easy. A proper number of 3-year-old males are reserved from 

 killing for future breeding stock. No female is ever purposely killed. 



Sealing Methods. At the Pribilof Islands most of the sealskins are taken in June 

 and July. Daily drives are made of the hauling grounds where the immature males 

 are ashore. Gangs of men running along the beach between the seals and the water 

 prevent their escape and the animals are slowly driven inland to killing fields. 

 During the progress of the drive animals other than 3-year-old males are elim- 

 inated and allowed to return to the water. The killable animals are then divided 

 into small groups of 10 to 15 seals, and each is dispatched by a sharp blow on the 

 head, followed immediately by a knife thrust in the heart, in much the same man- 

 ner as a slaughterhouse operation. 



Some years ago each pelt was removed by skinning entirely with a knife. Now 

 a cut is made with a knife up the belly, around the flippers, and across the head 

 at eye level, and the skin is loosened from the head, after which it is stripped from 



