724 THE CARNIVORES 



from all the other members of the family by the presence of three pairs of incisor 

 teeth in the upper jaw, and two pairs in the lower jaw. A further characteristic of 

 the group is to be found in the presence of claws on all the toes of both pairs of 

 limbs; while all those of the hind-feet are of nearly equal length. 



The gray seal is at once distinguished from the other members of this group by 

 the circumstance that the crowns of the relatively-large cheek-teeth are composed of 

 but a single conical cusp, although there may occasionally be fore-and-aft cusps in 

 the last two teeth of the lower jaw. Another peculiar feature of these teeth is that, 

 with the exception of the last one or two in the upper and the last one in the lower 

 jaw, they are implanted in the jaws by means of only a single root each. 



The gray seal is a rather large species, full-grown males usually measuring about 

 eight feet in length, although occasionally reaching as much as nine feet; these 

 measurements being taken from the tip of the nose to the end of the hind-feet. 

 The general color of the fur is silvery or yellowish gray, becoming lighter on the 

 under parts, and marked with a number of blackish or dusky ill-defined spots. 

 There is, however, great individual variation in this respect, some specimens being 

 uniformly silvery or yellowish white, with little or no trace of spots, while others 

 are almost black. The young are always white or yellowish white at birth, but, as 

 a rule, soon acquire darker tints. 



The gray seal, according to Mr. Allen, is one of the least common 

 of the northern members of the family, and has a somewhat restricted 

 distribution, being only found within comparatively narrow limits in the North At- 

 lantic. On the shores of northern Europe it appears to be commoner than on the 

 American side; and it occurs in Iceland, Scandinavia as far north as Finmark, the 

 British Islands, and probably Greenland. It appears, however, to be unknown in 

 Spitzbergen and the islands of the Arctic Sea, and is not met with, at all events as a 

 regular inhabitant, on the shores of the English Channel. On the American coast 

 this species extends as far south as Sable island, off Nova Scotia, while northward 

 it is met with occasionally in the straits of Labrador and Belle Isle, and ranges as 

 far as Disco island. 



With the possible exception of the bearded seal, the present species 

 is peculiar in breeding in the autumn; the young being produced in 

 the Shetland islands from September to November. There the gray seal is com- 

 monly found associating in pairs, and frequenting the most exposed positions. De- 

 scribing the habits of this seal in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mr. Lucas writes that 

 " it is fond of crawling out on the rocks, especially on sunny days, when it will lie 

 basking in the sunshine for hours at a time. The seals do not come on shore at 

 any convenient spot, but at a limited number of chosen localities, and these vary ac- 

 cording to the force and direction of the wind. Except in very light breezes the 

 lee side of the island is selected, not entirely on account of the difficulty of effecting 

 a landing on the windward side, but also because the seal relies very largely upon 

 its acute senses of smell and hearing to warn it of approaching danger from the 

 land. The chosen landing places are where a shelf of rock, raised but little above 

 the level of the sea, descends vertically for several feet beneath, thus enabling the 

 seal to plunge headfirst into the water and disappear at once from sight. Before 



