FUR-SEAL HEED OF ALASKA. 



219 



Lucas says that if the seals are 

 not killed down as young males 

 they will grow up to " destroy the 

 mothers and pups." 



The following was contributed by Dr. 

 Lucas to the New York Times of Febru- 

 ary 23, 1912: 



"the fur seal herd. 



"To the Editor of the New York 



Times: 



' ' Since my name appears in your editor- 

 ial article on the fur seal question, may I 

 have space to state my opinions? My 

 attitude in regard to the 'trampled pup' 

 question and the damage done by unnec- 

 essary males has been conservative, as 

 you will see by the following quotations 

 from my report of 1898 on the 'Causes of 

 Mortality Among Seals,' based on obser- 

 vations of 1896 and 1897: 



" ' Rough handling by the males may be 

 set down as the most evident known cause 

 of death among the females, and the 

 greater the proportion of bulls the greater 

 the number of deaths, so that in a state 

 of nature the superabundance of bulls 

 must probably be an important factor, 

 if not the chief factor, in checking the 

 increase of the fur seals. As the propor- 

 tion of the sexes at birth is equal, and as 

 at least 30 males are born where one is 

 needed, there must in olden times have 

 been a prodigious amount of fighting and 

 a mighty turmoil on the breeding grounds, 

 with a consequent destruction of mothers 

 and pups. There were 42 dead cows on 

 Reef rookery in 1897, and if there was 

 such a visible loss with only a moderate 

 surplus of males what must have taken 

 place before any males were killed by 

 man? It is evident that if many cows are 

 killed outright, many more must be badly 

 injured and eventually die, an inference 

 made in discussing the mortality among 

 the pups, where it was suggested that the 

 loss of these injured females at sea prob- 

 ably accounted for much of the early 

 starvation of the young.' ' ' (P. 91.) 



(Hearing No. 10, p. 600, Apr. 20, 1912.) 



The "science" of Dr. Lucas: 



Mr. McGiLLicuDDY. WTiat is your esti- 

 mate as to the required number of males 

 to a specified number of females? 



Dr. Lucas. May I refer to my report? 

 I went into the matter very carefully in 

 this. We found that the average number 

 of seals in a harem in 1896 and 1897 was 

 about 35. That was at a time when the 

 number of surplus bulls was very large. 

 There was a very large number of useless 

 bulls who could get no cows, who had been 

 crowded out. Thirty-five was the mini- 

 mum average for a harem, and 50 or 60 

 would be what might be called a good 



But his associate, Lembkey, in 

 whom he has "perfect faith," de- 

 clares that if not so killed, they 

 "will increase again to between 

 four and five millions." 



Mr. Lembkey. In 1890 conservative 

 estimates placed the number on the Prib- 

 ilof Islands between four and five millions. 

 To-day there are probably not over 

 180,000 in the entire herd. 



Mr. Williams (of Mississippi). At the 

 end of 18 or 19 years, if no killing at all, 

 you think they would go back to between 

 four and five millions? 



Mr. Lembkey. I have no doubt they 

 would . ( Hearing on Fur Seals, Ways and 

 Means Committee, Jan. 25, 1907; p. 66, 

 notes; M.S. typed.) 



Mr. Lembkey. * * * go^ t]iat 

 shows that in 15 years this (Robbens Reef) 

 herd had rehabilitated itself, and I sup- 

 pose that if the Pribilof herd were left 

 alone, immune from land killing as well 

 as sea killing, it would do the same thing. 

 (Hearing on Fur Seals, Ways and Means 

 Committee. Jan. 25, 1907, House of Rep- 

 resentatives; p. 62, notes M.S. typed.) 



Its error exposed: 



Mr. Elliott. Thisassumption byJordan, 

 Lucas, and the rest of that ' ' science " crowd 

 in the Bureau of Fisheries that the breed- 

 ing of that seal life is precisely as so many 

 cattle, sheep, or horses — that only a very 

 small per cent of the male life is needed, 

 is simply baseless — the difference is wide, 

 and those "scientists" lack common sense 

 in not observing it. 



Cattle, sheep, and horses breed during 

 every month of the year; fur seals breed 

 during only 1 month of the year, and 

 mostly in only 10 or 15 days of that month, 

 from July 10 to 20, annually. 



