52 THE FUR SEALS OF THE I'Kir.ILOF ISLANDS. 



It is pioliablc tliat with the cows, as with the bulls, tlic date of laiKliiig- is iiiMiu'iic<'(l 

 by age, the ohlcst coming tirst. The fact that tlie young cows are tirst iinpieguatetl 

 early iu August, coupled with the fact that pups are born as early as the 10th of June, 

 shows that there must be a gradual recession of the date of delivery, which may 

 reasonably be supposed to corresiiond to the increasing age of the breeding animals 

 themselves. 



THEIR ARRIVAL NOT THE OCCASION OF PIGHTII?G. 



The observations of the season of 1897 must also correct the tradition that tlie 

 first appearance of the cows is the signal for a general battle among the bulls for their 

 possession. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was iu 18;t7 no general 

 disturbance at this time nor during the month of June. No general recognition of 

 the arrival of the cows was made by the bulls. The landing female reconnoitered the 

 shore, swimming backward and forward until she was satisfied of the location, and 

 then landed on the rocks, being taken in charge by the nearest bull. If the bull 

 discovered the landing cow and attempted to secure her, she escaped to the water if 

 she ciHild; if not, she submitted to the inevitable, and took up her place beside him. 

 Sometimes the esca])iug cow was overtaken by the bull and carried back. If the cow 

 escaped, she usually returned to the same place, and in time was located there. 



THE MANNER OF LANDING. 



This represented the method of the earliest arrivals. The choice of the cow was 

 limited to the place of landing. When a bull once obtained a cow, his harem became 

 the objective point for all cows landing in its vicinity. The landing cow came in 

 quietly and took her place among the others, in most cases without even the knowledge 

 of the bull whose circle she joined. When he became aware of her presence, he gave 

 her a cordial welcome, taking occasion to round up his harem and to show the new 

 arrival marked attention. As a result of this desire of the cow to join the crowd, 

 it happened that large harems were formed at favorite landing places which grew 

 constantly in numbers, though the shore front on either side remained for the time 

 being entirely wanting in cows. On all the massed rookery portions this became the 

 regular method of development. 



MASSED ROOKERY FORMATION. 



The large mass of breeding seals on Tolstoi sand flat* was originally a single 

 harem, which in the course of timenumbeied upwards of a hundred cows in charge of 

 a single bull. So long as the cows lay quietly resting before and after the birth of 

 their pups the single bull was able to control them all. I?ut iu time the task became 

 too great, and when the cows began to come in heat in numbers, he soon lost control 

 of them. The idle bulls about him entered the circle. He was unable to exclude 

 them, and in time a large number of bulls controlled the mass iu common, apparently 

 without clearly defined harems. With the podding and scattering of the pups and 

 the influx of new cows, the seals became sjjread out over larger areas, and new bulls 

 were taken into the circle until the farthest limit of expansion was reached. 



What was true for Tolstoi was true also for the great breeding masses on the 

 other large rookeries. Under Hutchinson Hill, the great mass occupying this space 



* See plate (ipnosite p. 10. 



