SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 13 



The total length of the adult is about 4 to 5 feet, and its coat is generally 

 of a yellowish colour, thickly spotted with black on the back and upper parts, 

 but less distinctly so on the sides. The under parts are a bright silvery hue ; 

 there is, however, considerable variety in colour and in the distinctness of the 

 spots. This species is readily domesticated, and displays great intelligence, and 

 even affection for those who feed and tend it. Almost everybody must have 

 been struck with the docility displayed by the Seals which are occasionally ex- 

 hibited as "talking fish." At the Zoological Gardens and at the Brighton and 

 other Aquaria, where they are a never-failing source of attraction, their graceful 

 movements in their confined homes cannot fail to excite admiration. Swim- 

 ming silently and swiftly along, the animal threads with the greatest accuracy 

 the intricacies of its narrow pond, assuming every possible attitude, and 

 turning over and over in its course, as much at ease when swimming on its 

 back as in its usual position. When, tired with this exercise, it comes to the 

 edge of its pond and raises itself out of the water, its rounded head, and 

 bright, full black eyes have something almost human in their expression, and 

 the fabled " mermaid " seems a reality ; but when once it leaves the water, it 

 is clearly seen that it is no longer in the element in which it is destined to 

 live and move, for its motions are laboured and awkward in the extreme. It 

 throws itself along, first on one side and then on the other, just as a man 

 tightly sewn in a sack would do, but, notwithstanding its clumsiness, contrives 

 to make considerable progress. 



This species may be distinguished by the arrangement of its molar teeth, 

 which are placed obliquely along either side of the jaw, not in a line with 

 each other. It has been said that this is only a characteristic of youth, and 

 that the peculiar arrangement disappears " before the skull attains its 

 maximum size." In the second edition of Bell's * Quadrupeds,' however, 

 the authors express their belief that "it will be found a characteristic of all 

 ages, although certainly more marked in the young than in very old animals." 



