48 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PKIBIl.OF ISLANDS. 



Ill the iiiteiviil the ottices of reproductiou are accomplished. The females come and 

 go from the feeding grounds at intervals, caring for their young. The younger males 

 spend most of their time resting on the sand beaches, visiting the sea irregularly. In 

 November the females and young of the year leave the islands. The males, especially 

 the bachelors, remain until December and even January, in mild seasoDS pi'obably not 

 all leaving the vicinity of the islands during the winter. 



THE LIMIT OF MIGRATION. 



Tlie adult males and tbe older bachelors spend the winter in tlie Pacific Ocean, 

 somewhat below the Aleutian Islands, and eastward in the Gulf of Alaska. The 

 younger males go farther south. The pups probably reach the hititude of Cape Flat- 

 tery. The adult females go farthest south, being foii ad as low down as the Santa 

 Barbara Channel, off southern California. 



ITS COURSE AND DURATION. 



Tlie southward trii) of the seals must be rapid and more or less direct to the 

 turning point. The females do not leave the islands much liefore the middle ot 

 November, but are taken in the latitude of southern California early in December. On 

 the return trip the movements of the animals are slower, the remainder of the winter 

 and spring being occupied in the northward journey along the coast, which they follow 

 at a considerable distance offshore. In December, January, and February they are 

 found off the coast of California. They are in the neighborhood of Cape Flattery and 

 Vancouver Island in March, Axu'il, and May; and in May and June they are found 

 in the Gulf of Alaska and along the southern coast of the Aleutian Islands. Tliey 

 reach the islands at various dates according to the different classes of animals. 



In this outline of the movements of the seals at seaoidj' the general course of the 

 herd as a whole is traced. A more detailed account will be found in connection with 

 the migration chart prepai-ed by Mr. Townsend and published in Part III of this 

 report. In Mr. Lucas's account of the feeding habits of the animals, also in Part III, 

 the movements of the seals on their summer feeding grounds are more lully given. 



