Mainn/d/ia. 5 



shoulders were signs of domestic worries." ^ These scars are also 

 described by Mr. H. J. Bull, who gained his experiences of the Seals 

 in 1894-95 during a sealing and whaling trip to Victoria Land.^ 

 Mr. lUill states that nearly one-half of the seals captured 

 exhibited these peculiar scars or wounds. The wounds, which were 

 in some cases " quite fresh — in fact bleeding — were not found about 

 the necks and heads of the animals, but al^out their body, more 

 particularly the lower parts." Their peculiarity consisted in their 

 great length — " up to twelve inches," and their frequently parallel 

 arrangement at a distance of " about one inch apart." Their nature 

 and appearance as described above, together with the fact that " the 

 wounded Seals were met with throughout the pack, consequently in 

 many cases hundreds of miles away from the nearest land/' are, 

 thinks Mr, Bull, a death-blow to the theories which ascribe them 

 either to the work of a " huge land mammal " or to the fighting of 

 the males in the breeding season. Far more likely is it that they 

 are caused by the attacks either of some Shark, or more probably 

 still by the Killer Whale, a cosmopolitan Cetacean with a well-known 

 reputation for a partiality for Seal-flesh. Mr. Bull's opinion is 

 strengthened by the fact that " the scars were rarely, if ever, found 

 on the Sea-Leopards," " as if the size of this animal rather awed 

 the mysterious enemy of his smaller cousins." 



Mr. Bull's theory, which has certainly much to recommend it, 

 is commented on by Dr. C. Hart Merriam,^ who says : — " The long 

 scars on Hair-Seals in the North Atlantic are believed to be caused 

 by Sharks' bites, and the same may be true in the Antarctic Ocean." 

 My own experience of the Northern Fur-Seal {Callotaria ursina), and 

 its apparent apathy in the water, when in close proximity to its 

 enemy, the Killer, makes it seem highly probable that if the Seals of 

 the Antarctic be only half as foolish as the Fur-Seals — a supposition 

 which seems to be well-nigh proved by the ease with which they 

 allow themselves to Ijc killed by man — then many would easily fall 

 victims to the Killers or Sharks, who might scar many more than 

 they eat, either in a mere spirit of wantonness, or, if well fed, 

 through sheer half-heartedness in securing their prey. It is sig- 

 nificant that Mr. Bull's experience of the pack was gained in 

 December and January, exactly at the time when Mr. Bruce found 

 the Seals heavily scarred, but improving in condition. It seems 



^ ' Fi'om Dundee to the Antarctic : an Artist's Notes and Sketches during the 

 Dundee Antarctic Expedition, p. 237, 1892-93.' London, 189-i. 



^ 'The Cruise of the '■^Antarctic'''' to the South Polar Regions.' London, 1896. 

 See pp. 139, 187-194. 



^ Century Magazine for Jauuary, 1896. 



