g46 p^OCA GRCENLANDICA HARP SEAL. 



masses J^ooded Seal or the "Square-flipper" (probably ^^7?'- 

 throT' O^yp'^^'*^)- According to Lindeman, the young are born 

 pp^h later at the Jan Mayeu breeding -grounds, or not till the 

 _'3d or 24th of March, the "whelping-time" (as this period is 

 termed in sealing parlance) lasting till about the oth of April. 

 Only rarely does the female bring forth more than a single 

 young one at a birth. The period of gestation is supposed to 

 be about nine months. If left undisturbed the females are 

 said to suckle the young about fifteen to eighteen days, when 

 the young are so far developed that they are able to take to the 

 water and seek their own nourishment. At this time they be- 

 gin to shed their white woolly coat, and take on the harsher, 

 grayer pelage that succeeds the foetal dress. 



According to Mr. Carroll, the old " Breeding Harps "' are the 

 first to leave the fishing- ground for the purpose of "whelping." 

 In selecting their breeding stations they endeavoi" to go as far 

 north as they can advance with safety, or until they meet the 

 heavy northern ice, for they know that the more northern the 

 station the more safety there is for the young from the wash of 

 southern storms. Yet, in spite of their delicate instincts, and 

 notwithstanding their great cautiousness, says Lindeman, "it 

 still sometimes hapi^ens that heavy northeast storms drive the 

 whole area chosen into the open sea, and the immense mass of 

 young Seals become unfortunately destroyed. I saw many in- 

 teresting examples," he adds, "of how courageously the mother 

 worked under such an accident in order to bring her young again 

 uj)on the firm ice, either by trying to swim with it between her 

 fore flippers or by driving it before her and tossing it forward 

 with her nose." Carroll states that all kinds of Seals found about 

 Newfoundland " will at all times endeavor to whelp as near the 

 shore as possible, because instinct teaches them that the nearer 

 the rocks the shallower the water, so that when they abandon 

 their young ones the little creatures will see the bottom so as 

 to enable them to procure their food. When young Seals are 

 whelped near the shore," however, he continues, "and a heavy 

 sea comes on, thousands of them are ground to i^ieces with the 

 sea against the rocks. I have fi'equently watched the old 

 female harps bolt up through the ice in a heavy sea and drag 

 their young ones oft' the ice into the water out of danger. 

 Again, when the ice begins to raft where young Seals are, 

 thousands upon thousands of them are also chopped into piece- 

 meal." 



