SYNOPSIS OF PINNIPEDS. 391 



wholly from protected seal rookeries, and chiefly from those of Bering- 

 Sea. 



Tlie sea-elephants, formerly almost as widely distributed in the 

 Ronthern seas as the fur-seals, and also abundant on 

 the west coast of Mexico and California, have shared mosTe^inct*"*^ *^' 

 the fate of the unprotected fur-seal rookeries. The 

 hundreds and thousands of former days are now represented by only 

 a few scattered individuals, except at a few beaches inaccessible to the 

 sealers. 



The West Indian hair-seal was nearly exterminated long before its 

 existence became known to natiiralists. f tt • 



The harp and hooded-seals of the North Atlantic Har^^Tud^HoocTed- 

 and Arctic Sea — the basis of the ISTewfoundland and ^®'^'^- 

 Jan JVIayen seal fishery — formerly existed in such immense numbers 

 that the supply .seemed inexhaustible. During recent years, however, 

 the catch has so greatly decreased as to seriously threaten the perma- 

 nency of the sealing industry. The deterioration led ., , ,. , 



J. ,i , .-, if- -<? • X J.- 1 • • X' Interuational pro- 



tin ally tO the adoption ot international provisions tor vision for a close sea- 



an annual close-time, which is likely to be made much •''°"- 

 more rigorous as time goes on. Fortunately for the i:)ersecuted seals, 

 bad weather often interferes with the plans of the sealers, so that for 

 several successive years they are unable to gain access to the great 

 breeding resorts of the seals, which have thus opportunity for recuper- 

 ation. 



Doubtless, if the seals of the icy seas of the north had been as easy 

 to reach as were the fnr-seal rookei'ies of the southern seas, they would 

 long since have shared the same fate. 



