THE WALRUS 



713 



were annually imported from the Cape into London, but the number is now much 

 reduced. In Algoa bay as many as from 200 to 300 of these seals have been taken 

 during a single night. 



There has been much uncertainty with regard to the fur-seals of the 

 New Zealand . .. 



Fur-Seal Australian seas, but it now appears that there is but one species, 



namely, the New Zealand fur-seal ( O. forsteri ) , of which the so-called 

 cinereous fur-seal (O. cinerea), according to Mr. H. O. Forbes, is the female. This 

 seal is the only one found on the New Zealand coasts, and it also occurs at Chatham 

 island and the Seal Rocks near Port Stephens. Although formerly abundant, it is 

 now becoming very rare. At the time of Flinders' visit in 1798 it was found in 

 thousands at Passage Point, to the north of Tasmania. The males are usually dark 

 gray above and brown below, while the lighter females are generally yellowish 

 brown above and dark below, some of them having a crest of long whitish hairs. 

 While the fur of the male is valuable and beautifully curled, that of the female 

 seems to have frequently but little under-fur, so that skins have been described as 

 those of hair-seals. 



THE WALRUS 

 Family TRICHECHID^ 



The huge and ungainly animals, commonly known by the name of walrus 

 (from the Scandinavian valross, meaning whale-horse), constitute not only a distinct 



SKELETON OF THE WALRUS. 



genus of the Pinniped Carnivores, but are likewise the sole representatives of a 

 special family. Walruses are strictly confined at the present day to the Arctic 

 regions of both Hemispheres ; but there is some difference of opinion as to whether 

 those found in the- Pacific are specifically distinct from the typical Atlantic form. 

 The two are, however, so extremely closely allied that we prefer to regard them as 

 belonging to a single species ( Trichechus rosmarus}. 



In many respects the walrus is nearly allied to the eared seals, this being 

 especially shown in the structure of the hind-limbs. Thus the hind-feet are capable 



