EXPEDITION TO SOUTH GEORGIA 



257 



more seriously than ever before by the business-like and thorough ravages 

 of one of the whaling companies which takes seal oil as a side line of whaling. 

 Soon after our arrival at South Georgia we began to fall in with sea 

 elephants. As nearly as I can determine from my subsequent observations, 

 filled out from the accounts of experienced sealers, the life history of these 

 animals is very briefly as follows: The single "pups" are born on shore in 

 early spring (September, October), and the old ones pair immediately 

 afterwards while the young are nursing. For a period the adults then lie 

 ashore, moving little and of course feeding not at all, while they grow gradu- 



Sea elephant swimming at the surface. Bay of Isles. Usually sea elephants swim be- 

 neath the surface, gliding through the seaweed with great ease 



ally thinner, supporting life upon their own plenteous blubber. The pups 

 are more active, frequently entering the water and playing with one another 

 in schools. They seem to be weaned at an early age, probably during 

 November. After six or eight weeks the mature animals go into the sea 

 where they feed, and may journey hundreds of miles, but on this part of 

 their lives there is a gap in our information. A few slothful individuals 

 continue ashore, and I have seen bulls of this sort in a state of pitiful emacia- 

 tion, lying in wallows either alone or with four or five cows, as late as March 

 first. Early in January well nourished adult sea elephants begin to "haul 



