92 



capture a young one that was asleep on the sands about 200 

 yards from the water, near Seatoa Snook. It was cut off from 

 the water, and being laid hold of, it made desperate efforts to 

 escape, being almost a match for two strong men. It was, how- 

 ever, at last secured, and was a beautifully spotted specimen, 

 or, as my friend expressed it, marked like a leopard. About 

 this time two seals used to visit regularly every day the stake- 

 nets set for salmon at Seaton Snook, though repeatedly shot at. 

 They are, undoubtedly, partial to salmon. 



Seals always appear to have been more partial to the north 

 side of the Estuary than the south, though I am informed that 

 occasionally a few might be seen on Bran Sand. The north 

 side is higher, lies better to the sun, and having a bend in the 

 centre of what is called Seal Sand, commands the river both 

 ways. As appears from the old chart before mentioned the 

 river had two channels at this point ; and at low water Seal 

 Sand formed an island between them. The river attains its 

 greatest width across the eastern portion of Seal Sand where 

 it is about 3^ miles wide between high-water marks at neap 

 tides, and as the foreshore on the north side of the river is soft 

 sticky mud from a foot to 18 inches in depth, it will be seen 

 that Seals iould rest here pretty securely. Eleven stones was 

 not an unusual weight for seals caught in the Tees. 



Nearly all Seals captured and seen in the Tees during 

 recent years have been young animals (three feet long or a little 

 over), which would almost suggest that they still breed in 

 limited numbers somewhere in the neighbourhood. It has been 

 suggested to me that probably the Wash is the nearest locality 

 in which they are for certain now known to breed. 



Macgillivray states that the full grown animal sometimes 

 attains to a length of five or six feet, but that the individual 

 from which he took his description was 3 feet lOj inches long, 

 and was from the Firth of Forth. It may not be out of place 

 to mention here that a Dog Seal was shot in the river Aire at 

 Rawcliffe, in March, 1888, which is said to have measured six 

 feet from nostrils to tail. 



Macgillivray's general description of the animal is " muzzle 

 obtuse, outline of forehead concave, grinders four-lobed, 

 obliquely placed in the jaws ; pile yellowish grey, niotlled with 

 dusky on the upper parts ; fore feet with the first toe longest." 



Of old records of Seals in the Tees and district I have 

 not been able to meet with much except casual references. 



