136 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 







ground. On his return as a yearling force of habit draws him there. As he grows 

 older sexual instinct exerts its influence. Eventually, if he is not killed, he arrives 

 at the age. when his strength enables him to win a place and rule a harem of his own. 

 It may therefore be said that the natural habit of the bachelor is to get on the 

 breeding ground or as near it as possible, the fear of the bull alone keeping him 

 away. And he has good reason to stand in dread of the harem master. At the close 

 of the breeding season, as soon as the old males go away to feed, the bachelors scatter 

 over the rookeries and enjoy their new found freedom until the bulls return. If the 

 bulls were allowed to increase on Bering Island, they would certainly drive out the 

 bachelors and restore the normal conditions. 



ARBITRARY SELECTION OF MALES. 



There is not the slightest evidence that the race of fur seals as a whole has been 

 in any way affected by the arbitrary selection of males for killing. Only strong, 

 vigorous males can maintain themselves on the rookeries, and those allowed to live 

 are neither more nor less vigorous than the others would have been. 



Effects resulting from variations in the character of the breeding males can not 

 be great, and would not, if they existed, make their appearances for many generations, 

 perhaps not for centuries. Careful supervision might possibly make effective artificial 

 selection of males, and such experiments, whether leading to practical results or not, 

 are worth trying. But whatever may be done in the future, it is certain that the 

 character of the herd has not been changed by the action of man in removing its 

 superfluous male life. 



It must be remembered, in this connection, that a strong selective influence is 

 exercised by the migrations in the sea. Only the vigorous members of the herd 

 survive the experience of winter. No decrepit individuals have been known to come 

 back in the spring. The rough sea of the north tells no tales, and it sends back to 

 the islands only those fit to survive. 



THE EFFECT OF DECLINE. 



The decline which the fur-seal herd has suffered within the past decade has so 

 diminished its stock of breeding females that the rookeries have contracted in area 

 and at the same time become more sparsely populated. The harems are more isolated 

 and distinct. The bulls have more room and are farther removed from their neighbors 

 or the idle bulls. These alterations, however, represent mere adaptation to changing 

 conditions and are not indication of changes in the habits of life. 



THE POSSIBILITY OF DRIVING THE SEALS ELSEWHERE. 



Most of the dire evils charged to man's interference are vague and intangible. 

 Before the Paris Tribunal much was urged by the British representatives about the 

 danger of the methods of land killing driving the seals to seek other breeding haunts. 

 But no proof was adduced of such result. Perhaps the best illustration of this class 

 of vague possibilities is found in Mr. Elliott's monograph. 1 



The subject of how best to manage the fur-seal islands had been under discussion. 

 In objection to the plan of the Government itself controlling the taking and selling 

 of the seal skins Mr. Elliott, assuming that such a course would involve the sailing of 



1 Seal Islands of Alaska, 1881, p. 27. 



