98 



white. It was reported there was another seen at the same 

 time. One was caught on the rocks, at Hartlepool, on January 

 4th, 1886. It was left in a pool by the tide, and attracted 

 some men by its call. It was a young female, and about 'd ft. 

 3 ins. long. On the 20th of .November, 1887, a Seal made its 

 appearance in the Middlesbrough Docks, and was said to have 

 followed a ves.sel in. It was there for several days, and was 

 reported in the newspapers to have attracted many people to the 

 Docks to witness its gambols. It was noticed to bring up fish, 

 and on one occasion two large eels. It was subsequently joined 

 by a second, and the two left the Docks when the gate was 

 opened for a vessel to pass out. Several were reported to be 

 seen in the river about the same time. 



On January 8th, 1888, a dead seal was washed up near the 

 Middlesbrough Ferry Landing. It was said to have been shot 

 a few days previously near Billingham Landing. It was pro- 

 nounced by Mr. Mussel, the taxidermist, to be the largest he 

 had ever seen. It is possible this may have been a Grey Seal. 

 On the 5th of March, 1890, a young Seal, about B ft. in length, 

 was shot on Coatham Sands, and was afterwards exhibited in a 

 tent at Eedcar. In December, 1891, a Seal was captured alive 

 on Seal Sand. An effort was made ( according to the local papers), 

 to procure this for the Middlesbrough Museum, but does not 

 appear to have been successful, as up to the present time there 

 is no specimen in that Institution. On the 7t& of December in 

 the same year a Seal (said to be of the silver variety) was caught 

 near Hartlepool Fish Quay, and was exhibited in the window 

 of a fried fish establishment. On September 16th, 1894, a Seal 

 was shot near Seaton Snook. On the 23rd September, 1895, a 

 Seal was caught in the Tees near Yarm. In the autumn of 1899 

 a dead seal was washed up on the sands between the Tees mouth 

 and Coatham. On the 28th of January, 1901, a Seal was shot 

 in the Tees below Port Clarence. It was 3 ft. 9 ins. long and was 

 said to weigh 8 stone. I examined this Seal. It was of a light 

 silvery grey colour, with a few black spots on the back. This 

 Seal struck me as being of a lighter colour than usual, and a local 

 taxidermist, who has had longer experience, was of the same 

 opinion, though he had seen individuals as light. 



It is probable that the Grey Seal fPhoca gryphusj, as well as 

 the Common Seal, occurred in limited numbers in the Tees. 

 Graves, in his ' History of Cleveland,' published in 1808, and 

 before referred to, mentioned the great seal or sea calf (of 

 Pennant's Zoology, 36). I have seen a very large skull which 



