Contented with Little 89 



yes, even so small as mussels, are the daily food of the 

 Sea Elephant and, like the walrus, very satisfying he 

 seems to find them. Secure in his impervious coating 

 of fat and hide, he loves to lie upon the battered and 

 bare rocks with the spindrift hissing over him, as cosy 

 as a cat upon a hearthrug before a blazing fire. Loves 

 to watch the gambols of the pups learning to swim in 

 the boiling surf, and to nuzzle in the ooze at the bottom 

 of the sea for the succulent morsels which cannot escape 

 him. Altogether it cannot be denied that the All- Wise 

 One has given to the Elephant Seal a high and enviable 

 place among the sea mammals ; and now that man's 

 desire for his particular products has been satisfied by 

 other and more easily and cheaply obtained substitutes 

 his lot will be as near being perfect as any animal's 

 can or ought to be. For he has no enemies other than 

 man. 



