10 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



A REPRESENTATIVE POPULATION 



Of all the haunts of life, the shore has the 

 most representative fauna or assemblage of 

 animals. Almost every kind of creature is 

 there. Let us begin at the top of the genea- 

 logical tree. 



On some quiet British shores the seals come 

 out of the water to rest, and are sometimes 

 caught napping by men who have no mercy. 

 They bring forth their young ones, usually 

 one for each mother, in caves or in sheltered 

 nooks among the rocks; and this tells us part 

 of the secret of seals, that they are the aquatic 

 descendants of terrestrial mammals. For it is 

 a general Natural History rule that animals 

 go back to their old home to breed. What is 

 seen on a small scale on British shores is seen 

 magnified elsewhere; for instance in Alaska, 

 where the fur-seals have their great rookeries. 



On other British shores the otter has its 

 home, or rather one of its homes, for otters are 

 roving animals. They often swim several 

 miles to reach an island off the coast; they can 

 dive more than full fathoms five to catch the 

 plaice lying on the sandy floor of the bay; 

 when they are severely rationed they pick 



