SEAL. 



645 



their young of the dry herbage on the beach. Not- 

 withstanding the size and strength of this species, it 

 is by no means a vicious animal ; on the contrary, it 

 is rather erentle and timid, except in the pursuit of its 

 prey. In every point of view in which we can consider 

 it, it is, in fact, one of the most interesting animals 

 that inhabit the ocean. 



FOKSTER'S SEA H$EAR(O.Forsterii') is a much smaller 

 species than the one last mentioned ; but it is one 

 which is very widely distributed, and of which the 

 fur is held in much estimation. It is found both in 

 the high and the middle latitudes of the South Sea, 

 in the most southerly isles that have been discovered, 

 on all the rugged shores at the southern extremity of 

 America, on the island of Tristan d'Acunha in the 

 South Atlantic, on Van Diemen's Land, and the south 

 of New Holland, on New Zealand, and all the islands 

 which spot the south of the Pacific. 



The length of this species varies from four to six 

 feet. The body is slender, the head round, the 

 opening of the mouth small, the eyes large, the ears 

 conical and pointed, the fore paws free, with naked 

 membranes, smooth on the upper side and furrowed 

 on the under ; the inner toe is the longest, and all the 

 others are gradually shorter and shorter ; the cover- 

 ing consists of two coats of hair, the one a very close, 

 soft, and silky fur, of a reddish-brown colour, and the 

 other of long, stout, and shining hairs, which are 

 brown mottled with grey. The fine fur varies in 

 colour in different individuals, and at different ages 

 and seasons ; it is thicker and longer on the neck and 

 back than on the other parts ; and it is the finer and 

 shorter which is so much valued as fur. It is the 

 proper South Sea seal-skin of the English furriers ; 

 and, as the long hairs are all carefully pulled out, it 

 is remarkably even on the surface. It is also used in 

 the manufacture of hats, often in producing what is 

 called " short nap beaver ;" but it is weaker than 

 beavers' fur, and we believe does not either felt or 

 retain the colour quite so well. It is said to be a 

 wary animal, with a very acute sense of smelling, and 

 therefore it is not easily captured. But it is so valua- 

 ble for the fur, that every stratagem is put in requi- 

 sition for obtaining it. As is the case in most of the 

 other species, this one is subject to considerable 

 variety, or else there are different species bearing a 

 pretty close resemblance to each other. 



LITTLE EARED SEAL (O. Pusillci). This species, 

 which is the sea *olf of some authors, is not 

 above four, or at the most five, feet in length, and 

 two feet in circumference at the thickest part, even 

 in the very largest specimens ; while the majority of 

 those met with are said not to^exceed two or three 

 feet. The head is round and a little depressed, and 

 the muzzle very short ; there are six incisors in the 

 upper jaw, the two exterior of which have very much 

 the form of canines ; the mustachios are very long; 

 and the ears, which are straight, are an inch and a 

 half in length, which is more than those of any of the 

 htr^or species ; there are only four incisive teeth in 

 the upper jaw ; the neck is very thick for the size of 

 the animal ; the inner toe on the fore paws is very 

 long ; but the claws are very short and almost cor- 

 nated in the skin ; the hind feet are covered with fur 

 on the upper part, but have the skin naked on the 

 under ; there are three well defined claws on the 

 three middle toes of each of the hind feet ; but the 

 lateral ones are hardly perceptible ; and the membrane 

 by which the toes are united is divided into five very 



long lobes, which extend far beyond even the most 

 perfectly developed claws ; the fur is soft and shining, 

 and of a brown colour with a tinge of iron-grey ; it is 

 darker on the head and brighter on the back than 

 on the other parts ; on the ridge of the back it passes 

 into bright grey, and into whitish on the belly. The 

 young have the colour more inclining to blackish ; 

 and the adults are subject to considerable varieties 

 of colour. This species is found in lower latitudes 

 than many of the others, and occurs in considerable 

 numbers about the southern extremity of Africa. But 

 it has been differently described by different authors, 

 and therefore there are some doubts as to its real 

 characters. 



PERNETTY'S LITTLE SEA LION (O. molossina) has 

 the body slender, the head round, and the muzzle 

 truncated so as to give it something the appearance 

 of a bull-dog ; the nose is rather prominent, and 

 separated from the upper lip by a furrow ; the upper 

 lip closes over the under one, and the margins of 

 both are covered with short stiff hairs placed closely 

 together; the mustachios are disposed in four, five, 

 or six rows over the greater part of the cheeks, 

 and the hairs in them are four inches long in the 

 parts most distant from the muzzle ; these hairs are 

 thick, flattened, and shining, and of a bright fawn 

 colour ; the eyes are placed at the distance of about 

 two inches from the gape, and have the irides of a 

 greenish colour; the ears are very thick, short, rolled 

 together at the sides, nearly concealed with thick 

 fur on the outsides, but naked within ; the fore paws 

 are short, and terminated by very large membranes, 

 which are quite naked and of a deep black ; there are 

 only four rudimental claws on each of their feet ; the 

 hind feet are drawn close together, flattened, and 

 have black claws about an inch long to the three 

 middle toes, but mere rudiments to the lateral ones ; 

 the membrane on them is largeand divided posteriorly 

 into five produced lobes ; the body and (he upper sur- 

 face of the extremities are covered with very close 

 short fur ; but the under sides are quite naked and of 

 a bright and shining black, and the colour is reddish- 

 brown, with a lustre like satin in the living animal ; 

 the tail is short, flat, and pointed ; there are in all 

 thirty-six teeth, the incisors divided into two lobes by 

 a deep furrow. This species is found in the high 

 latitudes of the South Sea, where it comes to the 

 shores in abundance about the midsummer of the 

 South Sea hemisphere, that is, in the end of De- 

 cember. 



CROWNED EARED SEAL (O.coronata). This species 

 is not known as a living animal, but only from a spe- 

 cimen in Bullock's Museum. That specimen was 

 very small; and hence it is probable that it may have 

 been the young of some other, and perhaps well- 

 known, species. All the feet are described as being 

 furnished with much larger and more powerful claws 

 than the majority, or indeed almost any, of the eared 

 seals with which we are acquainted in the living state. 

 Our reason for concluding that it was merely a young 

 one is the blackness of the skin, for many of those 

 that are brown, when full-grown, are black in the 

 younger state. 



ASH- COLOURED EARED SEAL (0. cmereo). This 

 one is not uncommon about the southern and south- 

 western shores of New Holland. It grows to the 

 length of eight or nine feet, and is covered with thick 

 and hard fur of an ochre-grey colour, longer and 

 thicker on the neck and shoulders than on the under 



