644 



SEAL. 



but it has none of the propensities of the savage king 

 of brutes. It is met with along the whole west coast 

 of America, though most abundantly toward the 

 north. It grows to the length of eight or nine feet. 



Sea Bear or Lion. 



The colour of the fur is brown, and the mane con- 

 sists of a band of frizzled hair down the middle of the 

 neck, having no resemblance to the mane either of a 

 lion or a horse. The head is of mean size, the ears are 

 short, the muzzle also is short, and it turns up some- 

 thing like that of a pug-dog. It can climb to a very 

 considerable height on the rocks, though its fore paws 

 are very short. It is very abundant among the Aleu- 

 tian Islands, by the natives of which its flesh is 

 held in much estimation. It is a very timid and 

 harmless animal, notwithstanding the mane and the 

 roaring. 



The males are partially polygamous, but they have 

 seldom more than two or three females in their train, 

 The period of gestation is nine months, and the young 

 are produced in May or June. Notwithstanding the 

 partiality of the Aleutians to the flesh of these 

 animals, they have at all times a rank and dis- 

 agreeable scent. Though they are found along the 

 whole line of the west coast of America, they are yet 

 to be regarded as properly animals of the North 

 Pacific, and not of the South ; for as one proceeds 

 westward their numbers diminish, and they are not 

 found higher than 56 of south latitude. 



CALIFORNIAN EARED SEAL (O. Califormana). There 

 is a little obscurity about this species. As described 

 it is smaller than the former ; covered with uniform 

 smooth yellowish-brown fur, and with the rnustachios 

 small ; the muzzle is very pointed ; the fore paws are 

 much larger than the hind ones, with five rudimental 

 claws and enlarged membranes ; the hind feet are 

 slender, with three claws on the middle toes of each, 

 and rudimental ones on the exterior and interior ; 

 there are five lancet-shaped lobes of membrane which 

 extend nearly half a foot beyond the points of the 

 claws ; the tail is very short. The habits are wholly 

 unknown. 



SEA BEAR OF STELLER (O. Krachennmikofii). This 

 is the " sea cat" of the Russian, whose almost unpro- 

 nounceable name it bears ; and to whom we are in- 

 debted for a good deal both of real historyand romance 

 respecting the sea on the coast of Siberia. The length 

 is eight or nine feet in the very largest specimens ; 

 and the muzzle is longer and the teeth more powerful 

 than in the sea- lion. The old ones are blackish with 



grey spots on the upper parts, and the young are 

 bluish-grey. In the old ones the fur is grey at the 

 points, and has altogether a bluish tinge; the feet are 

 naked and black in the colour. They are found 

 chiefly in the northern parts, where they shift their 

 locality with the seasons. They collect in the greatest 

 numbers toward the mouth of the rivers, so that the 

 fishing for them is more on the continents than the 

 interjacent islands, though they are also pretty abun- 

 dant on these at some times of the year. They have 

 a most offensive odour ; but still they are sought with, 

 great eagerness for the sake of their fur. The fur of 

 the undropped young, which is of a beautiful bluish- 

 black, is the most esteemed ; and the females are caught 

 in vast numbers in order to procure it. The males 

 are polygamous, each having ten, fifteen, or more, 

 females in his train; and, as one might expect under 

 such circumstances, the males fight desperate battles 

 of gallantry. The females show very great attach- 

 ment to their young ; but it is said that the very old 

 and infirm ones are expelled the society of the more 

 vigorous. 



3. SOUTH SEA. The eared seals of the South Sea 

 are more numerous and varied than those of the 

 north ; and some of them are of much larger size. 

 One of the largest and most characteristic is 



THE SEA LION of Forster and others (O.jubata). 

 This species is said to grow to the length of five-and- 

 twenty or thirty feet, and to measure sixteen or 

 twenty in circumference where thickest. It is thus 

 among the largest animals in the family. It appears 

 to vary considerably in the different parts of the wide 

 sea of which it has the range. The body is cylindrical, 

 thick, and usually very fat ; the head very small in 

 proportion, and formed something like that of a large 

 dog ; the nose a little turned up and truncated at its 

 extremity ; the upper lip extends beyond the lower 

 one, and is furnished with five rows of stiff hairs for 

 rnustachios ; these are very long, and black in the 

 young animals, but hoary or white in the old ; the 

 ears are conical, and not more than half an inch in 

 length, and they are formed of very stiff cartilages ; 

 the eyes are large and prominent, and have the irides 

 greenish ; the fore paws are flat and black, with only 

 the mere rudiments of claws ; the hind ones have five 

 very small claws upon each ; the tail is conical and 

 short ; the fur upon the body is soft and generally of 

 a yellowish colour ; the female has no other covering 

 than this upon any part of the body ; but the male 

 has a very conspicuous mane, or rather a covering of 

 rough and coarse hairs along the whole upper part 

 of the body ; this is of a tan colour, not unlike the 

 general hue of the mane of the lion ; but all the rest 

 of the body is covered with yellowish fur of a soft 

 silky texture like that on the female. This species 

 is said to eat sea birds when it can catch them, and 

 even some seaweeds, as well as fishes, which are its 

 principal food. 



This is an exceedingly valuable animal, and the 

 capture of it is pursued with much avidity. The 

 flesh, though not the very best of animal food cer- 

 tainly, can be eaten, especially that of the young. 

 The oil is abundant and excellent, and the fur is much 

 in demand. It is also very widely distributed over 

 the Pacific, being found in almost every latitude of 

 that ocean, from near Behring's Strait to the extre- 

 mity of America ; but it appears to belong to the 

 middle latitudes rather than the high ones in either 

 hemisphere. The females make a sort of nest for 



