84 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



F. THE SEA-LION (EUMETOPIAS STELLERI). 



15. LIFE-HISTORY OF THE SEA-LION. 



Natural inferiority to the pur-seal. — This animal, also a characteristic pinniped of the Pribylov 

 islands, ranks much below the fur-seal in perfected physical organization and intelligence. It can, as well as its 

 more sagacious and valuable relative, the Callorhinw, be seen, perhaps, to better advantage on these islands than 

 elsewhere in the whole world that I know of. The marked difference between the sea-lion and the fur-seal up here, 

 is striking; the former beiug twice the size of its cousin. 



The size and strength of the northern sea-lion, Eumetopias Stelleri, its perfect adaptation to its physical 

 surroundings, unites with a singular climatic elasticity of organization; it seems to be equally as well satisfied with 

 the ice-floes of the Kamtchatka sea to the northward, or the polished bowlders and the hot sands of the coast 

 of California.* It is an animal, as it appears upon its accustomed breeding-grounds at Northeast point, where I 

 saw it, that commanded my admiration by its imposing presence and sonorous voice, rearing itself before me with 

 head, neck, and chest upon its powerful fore-arms, over six feet in height; while its heavy bass voice drowned the 

 booming of the surf that thundered on the rocks at its flanks. 



The physical presence of the sea-lion.— The size and strength of the adult sea-lion male will be better 

 appreciated, when I say that it has an average length often and eleven feet, osteologically, with an enormous girth 

 of eight to nine feet around the chest and shoulders; but, while the anterior parts of the frame are as perfect and 

 powerful on land as in sea, those posterior are ridiculously impotent when the huge beast leaves its favorite element. 

 Still, when hauled up beyond the reach of the brawling surf, as it rears itself, shaking the spray from its tawny 

 chest and short grizzly mane, it has that leonine appearance and bearing, greatly enhanced, as the season advances, 

 by the rich golden rufous-color of its coat, the savage gleam of its expression, due probably to the sinister muzzle 

 and cast of its eye. This optical organ is not round and full, soft and limpid, like the fur-seal's, but it is an eye like 

 that of a bull-dog, small, and clearly showing, under its heavy lids, the white or sclerotic coat, with a light brown 

 iris. Its teeth gleam and glisten in pearly whiteness against the dark tongue and the shadowy recesses of its wide, 

 deep mouth; the long, sharp, broad-based canines, when bared by the wrathful snarling of its gristled lips, glittered 

 more wickedly, to my eye, than the keenest sword ever did in the hand of man.t 



With these teeth alone, backed by the enormous muscular power of a mighty neck and broad shoulders, the 

 sea-lion confines its battles to its kind, spurred by terrible energy and heedless and persistent brute courage. No 

 animals that I have ever seen in combat presented a more savage or more cruelly fascinating sight than did a brace 

 of old sea-lion bulls which met under my eyes near the Garden cove at St. George. 



Sea-lions fighting at Tolstoi. — Here was a sea-lion rookery, the outskirts of which I had trodden upon 

 for the first time. These old males, surrounded by their meek, polygamous families, were impelled toward each 

 other by those latent fires of hate and jealousy, which seemed to burst forth and fairly consume the angry rivals. 

 Opening with a long, round, vocal prelude, they gradually came together, as the fur-seal bulls do, with averted 

 beads, as though the sight of each other was sickening — but tight they must. One would play against the other 

 for an unguarded moment in which to assume the initiative, until it had struck its fangs into the thick skin of its 

 opponent's jowl; then, clenching its jaws, was not shaken off until the struggles of its tortured victim literally 



* The sea-lion certainly seems to have a mure elastic constitution than is possessed by the fur-seal; in other words, the former can live 

 under greater natural extremes of climate than can tie' latter. A careful test of this question was made by the late E. B. Woodward, in 

 the aquaria of his famous gardens at San Francisco. He told me at the Grand Hotel, in 1873, that he should not attempt to keep another 

 fur-seal alive iu his tanks; that every one of the half dozen live specimens which he had placed therein at different intervals during the 

 last three years had died — began to droop and waste away as soon as they were installed in their new quarters; but he seldom lost a 

 sea-lion, except from clear or natural reasons. Mr. Woodward, from his practical experience, was positive in his belief that no living 

 adult fur-seal could ever be exhibited in New York; while he thought that the sea-lion, both Zalophus and Eumetopias, could be carried alive, 

 and in good condition, all over this country from New Orleans to Montreal, or San Francisco to Bangor. He said, " Our black sea-lion 

 {Zalophus) is tougher than the larger kind ( Eumetopias), and is just the creature for showmen." 



t The teeth of the fur-seal are not, as a rule, clean and white, as they are iu the mouths of most carnivora ; they are badly discolored 

 by black, browu, and yellowish coatings, especially so with regard to the males; the pup's milk teeth are complete exponents of the dental 

 formula of adolescence, but are small, brittle, mostly black and brown in color: with their shedding, however, the permanent teeth come 

 out quite clear, and glistening white ; still, again, in a year or two they rapidly lose their purity of tint, being discolored as above stated. 

 The sea-lion pups, also, are born with dingy, dusky milk teeth, hut I found that when their permanent set was grown it usually retained, 

 even into old age, its primitive whiteness. This difference between these animals is quite marked, which, together with the opposite 

 characters of their blubber, mentioned hereafter, constitute a very curious basis of differentiation. 



The fur-seal pup. when it spits or coughs in fright, opens its mouth wide, and the. small black and browu teeth seem sadly out of 

 place, set iu the bright, rosy gums around the fresh pink tinge of the tongue and under the red, flushed palate. 



The canines and incisors of Callorhinm and Eumetopias are well rooted, but the molars are not; their alveoli are only partly filled, so 

 that when the fleshy gums are removed these teeth will easily rattle out of their sockets. 



In looking over hundreds and thousands of the skulls of Callorhinus as they bleach out on the, lulliug-grouuds, I was struck by their 

 astonishing lack of symmetry ; they varied fully as much in their extremes as tho skulls of many different genera do. The number of 

 teeth differ also ; some jaws have sets of but live molars, others six, and others seven. 



