20 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



MAMMALS. 



The chief zoological interest centers iu the four marine mammals revealed to the 

 scientific world in Steller's famous treatise " De JJestiis Marinis"" (Xovi Conim. Ac. Sc. 

 Imp. Petrop., ii, 1751, pp. 289-398, pis. Xiv-xvi), which must always remain a 

 monument to the learning and industry of its author. In this he described for the 

 first time the sea-cow, the sea-lion, the fur-seal, and the sea-otter. 



Of these, the sea-cow [Ilydrodamalin gigcin, also known as Uytina tjigas or utelleri) 

 possesses greatest interest, on account of its early extermination by man, which took 

 place iu 1708, twenty-seven years after its discovery. The sea-cow was an herbivorous 

 animal, anteriorly shaped somewhat like a seal, but with a large caudal fin like that of 

 a whale or fish, but no hind legs, and belonging to the maniinalian order of ^irenia, the 

 few living relations of which, the manati and dugong, now only inhabit the tropical 

 waters of both heiuisiiheres. There is no indisputable evidence of its having ever 

 inhabited other coasts than those of the Commander Islands, as the find of a rib on 

 Attn Island does not necessarily prove that the animal once lived there, though that 

 is not improbable. The history of this animal, imperfectly known as it is, fills 

 voluTnes, aud all wo can do in the present connection is to refer to some of the more 

 recent literature (Biichner, Die Abbildungen der nordischcn Seekuli, Mem. Ac. Imp. 

 Sc. St. Petersb., 7 ser., xxxviii, 1891, No. 7.— Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1883, 

 pp. 78-86; 1881, pp. 181-189. — Stejneger, On the Extermination of the Great Northern 

 Sea Cow, Am. Geogr. Soc. Bull., No. 4, 1880, pp. 317-328. — Stejneger, How the Great 

 Northern Sea Cow (Bi/tina) Became Exterminated, Amer. Natural., xxi, Dec, 1887, 

 pp. 1047-1054). 



The sea-lion {Eumetoplas stelleri) was formerly quite abundant, but has now 

 become nearly extinct on both islands, though still numerous iu certain localities on 

 the Kamchatkau coast. In 1895 I saw only one individual on Sivutchi Kamen at the 

 North Rookery, Bering Island. 



The fur-seal {Callotaria itrsina) being the chief subject of this report, needs no 

 further mention iu this connection. 



The fate of the sea-otter [Latax lutris) in the Commander Islands is highly 

 instructive and interesting. When Bering and his unfortunate followers landed on 

 Bering Island they found the sea otters so numerous that these animals furnished 

 food for the entire crew during the whole winter. On their return to Kamchatka the 

 following year (1742) they brought with them more than 700 skins of this costly fur. 

 Then followed a period of reckless slaughter of these animals by the rapacious promy- 

 shleniks. Thtis, in 1745, Bassof and Trapeznikof secured 1,000 skins; in 1748 about 

 1,350 were killed. The result was that within a very few years the sea-otter almost 

 disappeared from Bering Island, for Tolstykh's expedition obtained only 47 during the 

 winter of 1749-50; Drushinin's men, in 1754-55, took only 5; while iu the account of 

 Tolstykh's second expedition, winter 1750-57, it is expressly said that "no sea-otters 

 showed themselves that year." It is interesting to note that even in those days 

 Copper Island offered a safer retreat for the sea-otter, since Yugof, who also visited 

 that island, returned home in 1754 with 790 skins. 



While not actually and literally exterminated on Bering Island — Trapeznikof's 

 expedition of 1702-03 secured 20 otters there — it did not become connnon there again, 

 except possibly during an alleged sudden reai)]>earance in 1772, until after the aban- 

 donment of the island, when the Ilussian-Ainerican Company was organized. TJiion 



