396 . TUB MARBLED SEAL. 



stone, moving by means of its fore feet, and moaning 

 most piteously." 



Again, "I have lately had occasion," says !M. F. 

 Cuvier, "to observe one of these animals which dis- 

 played much intellectual power. It did punctually what 

 it was ordered. If desired to raise itself on its hind legs, 

 and to take a staff in its hand, it. did so. At its keeper's 

 bidding it would likewise lie down on its right side or on 

 its left, and would, moreover, tumble head over heels. It 

 would give you either of its paws when desired, and would 

 extend its sweet lips to favour you with a kiss. It com- 

 plied immediately with the wishes of its owner, to whom it 

 seemed to be particularly attached." 



The Marbled Seal (IHiif/hnf Mv'V, or ringed seal, S\v. ; 

 P. discolor (Auct.); CalorepJutlu* (Hxro/or, F. Cuvier ; P. 

 <t>niiil<iia, Nilss.). ' This species would not appear to be an 

 inhabitant of our Skiirmird, or of those in the vicinity. "NVe 

 are told, at least, by M. AVilhelm von Wright, that he 

 never met with it there. But it is represented as pretty 

 common in both the Sound and the Baltic. Though it has 

 Ion? been known to the northern seal-hunters as a distinct 



CJ 



species, under the name of MorungeV&Aet which desi-- 

 nation Dr. S. Odman gave a good description of it as far 

 back as 1784 yet M. Cuvier was the first, I believf, to 

 specifically distinguish it from the true /'. rilnlhui, to 

 which it bears some resemblance. Its most distinctive 

 eharaet eristics, as its Swedish name denotes, are the 

 ring-like marks on its body. It is the smallest of the 

 Phocacnc inhabiting the Scandinavian waters, its length 

 being usually from three to four feet, and never, I 

 believe, exceeding four and a half feet. 



Its habits are, in many respects, similar to those of the 

 Common Seal. Many never congregate together, but they 

 are generally met vtith either singly or in pairs. It is 

 often seen reposing on rocks, and it keeps near to the 



