SKAL LIFE ON THE PKIBILOF ISLANDS. 217 



the coast of Alaska an\ \vlicn- outside of the Pribilof Islands. H:ivo never known 

 fur ><-ul to haul up on the land any \vhcre on the coast except on the Pribilof Islands. 

 Most of the seals taken in Bering Sea are females. Have taken them 70 miles from 

 the islands that were full of milk. 1 think a closed season should be established for 

 breeding seal from .January 1 to August 15 in the North 1'acitic Ocean and liering 

 >e;i. 



George Faircliild says : 



Most of them were cows, nearly all of which had pups in them. We took some of 

 the pups alive out of the bodies of the females. We entered Bering Sea May 25, 

 and we got 704 seals in there, the greater quantity of which were females with their 

 breasts full of milk, a fact which I know by reason of having seen the milk flow on 

 the deck when they were being skinned. We had five boats on board, each boat 

 having a hunter, boat puller, and steerer. We used shotguns and rilies. We got 

 one out of every five or six that we killed or wounded. We wounded a great many 

 that we did not get. We caught them from 10 to 50 miles ott' the seal islands. 



Normaii Hodgson says: 



I do not think it possible for fur seals to breed or copulate in water at sea, and 

 never saw nor heard of the action taking place on a batch of floating kelp. I have 

 never seen a young fur-seal pup of the same season's birth in the water at sea nor 

 on a patch of 'floating kelp, and, in fact, never knew of their being born anywhere 

 save on a rookery. I have, however, cut open a gravid cow and taken the young 

 one from its mother's womb alive and crying. I do not believe it possible for a fur 

 seal to be successfully raised unless born and nursed on a rookery. I have seen fur 

 seals resting on patches of floating kelp at sea, but do not believe they ever haul up 

 for breeding purposes anywhere except on rookeries. 



Captain Tanner, lieutenant-commander in the United States Navy, 

 makes a deposition which is entitled to particular consideration. The 

 following is a short extract: 



Seals killed in Bering Sea after the birth of pups are largely mother sea's, and the 

 farther they are found from the islands the greater the percentage will be. The rea- 

 son for this seeming paradox is very simple. The young males, having no family 

 responsibilities, can afford to hunt nearer home, where food can be found if sufficient 

 time is devoted to the search. The mother does not leave her young except when 

 necessity compels her to seek food for its sustenance. She can not afford to waste 

 time on feeding grounds already occupied by younger and more active feeders, hence 

 she makes the best of her way to richer fields farther away, gorges herself with food, 

 then seeks rest and a quiet nap on the surface. Under these circumstances she sleeps 

 soundly, and becomes an easy victim to the watchful hunter. 



A double waste occurs wlien the mother seal is killed, as the pups will surely 

 starve to death. A mother seal will give sustenance to no pup but her own. 1 saw 

 sad evidences of this waste on St. Paul last season, where large numbers of pups 

 were lying about the rookeries, where they had died of starvation. 



DECREASE OF SEALS 



EXCESSIVE KILLING THE ADMITTED CAUSE. 



We find that since the Alaska purchase a marked diminution in the 

 number of seals on and habitually resorting to the Pribilof Islands has 

 taken place; that it has been cumulative in effect, and that it is the 

 result of excessive killing by man. (Joint report of United States and 

 British Bering Sea commissioners.) 



PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE. 



Opinions of American commissioners. 



Having answered the first of the two queries relating to conditions 

 of seal life at the present time, the second becomes important. It is: 

 Has the decrease in number been confined to any particular class of 

 seals, or is it most notable in any class or classes? In answer to this, 

 it is our opinion that the diminution in numbers began and continues 

 to be most notable in female seals. (Report of American commissioners.) 



