;o8 THE CARNIVORES 



on their own fat; and it will not fail of notice that such a fast is very different from 

 that endured by bears and other hibernating animals, during which most of the 

 functions of the body are dormant; Nevertheless, no ill consequences appear to 

 accrue, since the old male sea-bears come back year after year as fat and sleek 

 as ever. 



Between the twelfth and fourteenth of June the first females make their ap- 

 pearance on the Pribilofs. When they first land, wet and dripping from the sea, 

 they are of a dirty, gray color, darker on the head and back than elsewhere; but 

 when thoroughly dry their coat is of a steel gray above, and nearly white beneath, 

 with a brilliant gloss. A few days' exposure to the weather is, however, sufficient 

 to tone down this brilliant dress to a sombre, grayish brown above, and an ochrey 

 tint below. Immediately on their arrival, the females are received with most 

 marked attention by the males nearest the shore, but they are seldom allowed to 

 rest long with these, as the males on the more inland stations are ever on the watch 

 to seize and take possession of them during the time that their temporary masters 

 are on the lookout for fresh wives. In this manner the unhappy females may be 

 seized by the scruff of their necks as unceremoniously as a cat takes its kitten, and 

 passed on from male to male, until they reach a place of security in the stations 

 furthest away from the water. During all this time fierce contests are continually 

 taking place among the males. By the time of the arrival of the last batches of fe- 

 males, which takes place usually between the tenth and fifteenth of July, the males 

 have become thoroughly exhausted, and have obtained as many females as they de- 

 sire. Consequently, the females are now allowed to crowd in through the fifteen or 

 sixteen rows of stations usually intervening between the shore till they reach the 

 open ground in the rear of the colony, where they congregate in droves, carefully 

 selecting places where there are no pools of water. 



It is considered by Mr. Elliot that, on the average, each male in the neighbor- 

 hood of the shore has from twelve to fifteen females, while those more inland have 

 only from five to nine. One old male was observed with upward of forty-five fe- 

 males under his charge, but this individual was favored by his situation, which had 

 but one path of access. A certain number of males in the rear of the colony never 

 obtain partners at all; though toward the close of the season some of them may 

 step into the places of those of their sex as have to leave their stations through ex- 

 haustion. The males display extreme courage in defending and maintaining their 

 positions; and will even stand being fired at with shot without forsaking their posts. 

 The females, on the other hand, are remarkable for their gentle disposition, never 

 quarreling among themselves, and but seldom uttering a cry when roughly handled 

 and severely wounded by the contending males. During their sleep the bodies of 

 all the sea-bears are continually undergoing various quivering and rolling motions, 

 accompanied by twitchings of the paddles. 



The cubs are born shortly after the landing of the females, coming into the 

 world with their eyes open, and soon finding their voice and taking to the water. 

 It is but rarely that there is more than a single cub at a birth. They weigh from 

 three to four pounds, and vary from twelve to fourteen inches in length when born; 

 their jet-black coat being retained for three months. Both parents seem to treat 



