The North Sea Seals. 



DURING one of my coastal rambles a few days ago 

 on Holy Island I came upon the carcase of an 

 animal which is termed by the native fishermen 

 "a baby seal." To the uninitiated it would seem 

 ambiguous to apply such nomenclature to an animal 

 weighing seven stone. 



This species, however, is totally distinct from the animal 

 which produces the skin of commercial value, found in the 

 Arctic regions. 



This bigger type of seal breeds on many of our northern 

 islands Orkney, Shetland, Faroe, and Fame ; and of the 

 latter group the Brownsman is singled out as the chief 

 breeding place. At one time the animal bred freely on 

 Holy Island, and there is still a particular part of the coast 

 known as the "seal bat." 



I learned that another baby seal had been washed ashore 

 the following day on what is known as St. Cuthbert's 

 Island, and this animal was the opposite in colour to the 

 white one which I discovered, and of equal weight, and 

 came ashore at flood tide; and upon inquiry of the sports- 

 man who despatched it, I learned that it had been shot 

 some ten days previously. He had taken a range of a 

 hundred yards with a rifle, and it is interesting to note the 

 bullet mark on the back of the head in both cases. 



Naturalists and sportsmen are "doubtless aware of the 

 fact that it is next to impossible to shoot a seal in the face, 

 on account of its rapid movements in the water the moment 

 it perceives danger. The only method, therefore, is to 

 await Ihe opportunity for the animal to divert its course. 



That these pests 'do considerable 'damage to the salmon 



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