CHAPTER XVII. 



THE EARED SEALS AND ^A^ALRUSES. 



THE EARED-SEALS — THE FUR SEALS AND HAIR SEALS — THE SEA-LION — THE SEA-BEAR — VALUE OP 

 ITS FUR — THE FUR SEALS — THE CALIFORNIA HAIR SEAL — THE CALIFORNLA OR NORTHERN 

 SEA LION— MANNER OF CAPTURING IT ALIVE — THE WALRUS. 



THE family Otariad/E comprises the sea-bears, sea-lions, and 

 eared-seals. These animals are divided by Wallace into four 

 genera, but Mr. Allen, in his paper in the " Bulletin of the 

 Harvard Museum," arranges them into five. They are confined to the 

 cold and temperate shores of the North Pacific and similar regions in 

 the Southern Hemisphere. 



The Eared Seals, as the Otariad^ are commonly called, form a dis- 

 tinct family from the Earless Seals, or Phocidic ; they can walk on their 

 limbs with the body raised from the ground, and they rest with their 

 hind-legs bent forward ; they cannot swallow under water, and come to 

 the surface during the process of mastication ; the pupil of the eye 

 dilates and contracts to an enormous extent. Mr. Allen divides the 

 Eared Seals into two sub-families, the Triclwpliociim or Hair Seals, and 

 Oulophocina: or Fur Seals ; but Dr. Gray objects to this classification as 

 overlooking the fact that the abundance of the under-fur depends on the 

 season of the year, and the age of the animal. In ordinary parlance the 

 distinction between Hair and Fur Seals is common ; the latter are hunted 

 for fur as well as their oil, as they furnish the seal-skin jackets of fashion. 

 These furs differ much in appearance; in most species the hairs aie 

 much longer than the under-fur; in others, they only slightly overtop 

 the soft woolly fur, which is very dense, forming a soft, elastic coat. 

 Their habits resemble those of the Earless Seals. The young are 

 brought forth far inland, and are taught to swim very gradually, their 

 dams devoting much time to this duty. They are naturally quiet and 

 peaceable animals, and have no dread of mankind. 



