92 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885. 



November 18, and killed a female, the ouly animal on the beach. After 

 another trip as far north as San Diego returned again, December 31, 

 and found fifteen afrimals, all of which were carefully preserved and are 

 now in the Smithsonian Institution. 



From this it would appear that this interesting and valuable animal 

 has heavy odds to encounter in its struggle for existence. No sooner 

 were the three hundred or more that had appeared duriug the years of 

 their seclusion discovered than they were speedily made away with. 

 That a pretty clean sweep had been made of them was evident from the 

 meagre results of our own careful search, during which we not only 

 inspected the coast-line, but circumnavigated the islands of the region 

 both large and small. The herds of black sea-lions {Zaloplius) inhabit- 

 ing many places were also looked over for stray sea-elephants that 

 might be among them. The great number killed at the old rookery at 

 San Cristobal Bay in the fall and winter preceding our visit was, no 

 doubt, the principal cause x)f their scarrcity. 



I had but little opportunity for observing their habits. Having had 

 considerable experience with other species of seals during the summer, 

 I was struck at once by the different mode of progression employed by 

 these animals. Like the true Phocidce, they do not throw their hind 

 flippers forward in crawling, nor indeed lift them from the ground at 

 all, but by arching the back the hind parts are dragged forward and 

 used as a prop to serve in shoviug the forequarters forward. Compared 

 with it in this respect Eitmetopias and Zalophus are animals of remark- 

 able agility. Even when forced to exert themselves the hind limbs were 

 never turned forwards, but literally trailed in the sand behind the body 

 as if they were paralyzed. The black sea-lion especially is capable ot 

 making effective leaps and plunges when hurried towards the water, 

 contrasted with which the retreat of the sea-elephant seemed a feeble 

 crawl, the breast apparently never being raised from the ground. 



Old sealers told me that in all their experience with the sea-elephant 

 they had never observed it swimming far out at sea as sea-lions often 

 do ; in fact that they had never seen it outside the surf. This may have 

 been due to the fact that they are less conspicuous in their actions. In 

 protruding their heads above the surface, they are very quiet, making 

 no blowing noises as sea-lions do. A favorite attitude in the water is 

 to float about with the nose and hind flippers only above the surface. 



The smaller animals are apparently liable to be attacked by sharks. 

 The specimen we obtained November 18 (No. 233) was disfigured by a 

 great gash on the rump, in which the priut of shark's teeth was plainly 

 evident. I was assured by the men that fully one-fourth of the females 

 they had killed at San Cristobal Bay bore unmistakable traces of the 

 teeth of sharks. The specimen referred to was found to be terribly in^ 

 tested with abdominal parasites, which I have never seen in any othei 

 I)inniped. They were white thread-like worms, 3 or 1 inches in length] 

 The eyes in the sea-elephant appear to b^* larger and more bulging thai 



