4 Soittho'u Cross. 



Mr. llriH'C foiin.l all four siu'cies <.n tlie pack-ice, where, " loving 

 ilu- nun, tlifv lie t»n \\\v i»ack all day, digesting tlieir meal of the 

 prvvious night, wliicli liad consisted of fish or small crustaceans, or 

 All the Senls were ohtained from the pack-ice, in bluest 

 -t water. . , . The present generation had never seen 

 iiKiu. aii'i ;it hJH approach they did not attempt to flee, but surveyed 

 liiiii oiKMi-nx'ullRMl and fearful, during which process they were 

 liiid lt»\v with cluh or bullet. Sometimes they were so lazy with 

 sleep that I have seen a man dig them in the ribs with the 

 muzzle of hi.s gun, and, wondering what was disturbing their 

 sluinlwrs, they raised their head, only too quickly to fall pierced 

 with a bullet. . . . 



'*. . . In December all the Seals were in bad condition, thinly 

 ''■■'' ri'd, !ind grievously scarred, and it is noteworthy that the 

 ^ apjtenn'd to l»e as freely scarred as the males. During 

 y their condition improved, and by February they were 

 heavily blubbered and full of scars. The males were apparently as 

 numerous as the females, but I made no definite statistics. . . . By 

 Kebniary the embryo is well developed, gestation probably beginning 

 in I >et:enjl)er. . . . Almost every female, towards the end of January 

 and Febniary, is with young. In no individual did I find more than 

 one enibrko. . . ." 



Tl .• "^.'als showed great ])Ower of jumping out of the Mater. On 



nn- ..n sftme were fouiul " on a tilted berg, and so high was the 



dKive the level of the water," that Mr. Bruce relates that the 



only " clambered up with difficulty and secured their prey." 



H«^ lia-s .seen the Seals " rising 8 or 10 feet above the sea, and covering 



•f fully 20 feet in length." 



ii:r .xtraordinary scars and wounds observed on the Seals, as 



'-— :*• i by Mr. liruce, have been already noticed by previous 



:Mid attributed to various causes. One of the most 



! ies ascribes them to the attacks of a large and unknown 



lem-strial ramivorous mammal corresponding to the Polar Bear of 



•^' '• No traces of any such mammal have been found by 



.Ml. v\. u. iJurn-.Murdoth, who visited the Antarctic in 1892-93 



ml ihr • /• ' , • writi-.s :— The "Seals evidently consider the 



•'^ '' o-i.MTi's tlieir refuge from danger; probably the 



^^"'^^'' ^''CTu here as it does the Seals in the north. 



"^ ^l'*-' ''^''•'^1« very much scarred with long parallel 



eneiirling their bodies. I think that these were 



n. by ilH, (;iampu.s ; the smaller cuts about their necks and 



