68 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



THE FOOD AND FEEDING GROUNDS. 



The feeding grouiid.s of the fur seals in Bering Sea lie to the south and west of the 

 Pribilof islands, just off the 100 fathom curve, at a distance of from 100 to 200 miles. 

 In tlie migrations tiie seals seem to follow in a general way this same cnrve 



The food taken by the seals in Bering Sea consists mainly of sqnid, pollock, and a 

 small smelt like fish known only through the bones found in tlie stomachs of tlie seals. 

 Uu the migrations along the coast squid is again the chief diet, though occasional 

 salmon, herring, and rocklish are taken. This subject is more fully treated by Mr. 

 Lucas in Part III. 



THE AGE OF THIO SEALS, 



Of the age of the fur seals we know practically nothing, but one striking thing 

 about the fur-seal rookeries is the absen(;e of any animals which seem to be aged or 

 decrepit. On certain sand beaches and out-of-the-way places animals in poor condi- 

 tion were seen, which at lirst glance seemed to correspond to the class of aged and 

 infirm among other animals, but on dissection they were found without exception to 

 show injuries which fully accounted for their condition. Some had dislocated joints, 

 broken l)oiies, injuries to the s])ine, buckshot wounds, and like troubles. None were 

 suffering from old age. 



Nor is this a thing to be wondered at. Tlie severest strain which the fur seal 

 undergoes is tlie winter migration in Bering Sea and the North Pacific. An animal 

 weak or broken down from old age or injuries of one sort or another would succumb 

 first to the hardships of the sea and would not return. To the breeding rookeries and 

 hauling grounds are returned each spring only those animals which have possessed 

 the liardihood and strength to survive the adverse conditions of the winter. These 

 may be relied upon, nnless overcome by accidents, to maintain themselves during the 

 summer, to be again sifted out in the straggle for existence which the ensuing winter 

 renews. 



THE FTR-SEAI, VVV. 



Of all the different classes of animals tlie pups are tlie most conspicuous and 

 interesting. For the first two inonths of tlieir lives they are always present on the 

 rookeries where they are born. Their black coats contrast sliarply with the gray 

 stones and with the brown fur of their motliers. For a lew days after the pup 

 is born it is watciied over by the mother with a moderate sliow of interest, which 

 manifests itself chieHy in supplying it with nourishment and keeping it out of the 

 way of the clumsy bull. But before long the little fellow grows indejieudent and 

 leaves the family circle, seeking the lee of a sheltering roc-k at a distance from the 

 harems. There it spends its time sleeping and jdaying with its comjianions. 

 Whether this "podding" of the pups is a matter of (choice or the outgrowth of the 

 instinct of self-preservation, the result is good, for it keeps tlie little fellows out of 

 the way of the fighting and trampling bulls. From the time when the pup joins 

 the pod it receives no attention from the mother except on her return from the sea, 

 when she feeds it. Her absences are at first brief, but as the ])np grows older they 

 lengthen out. The pup gorges itself with milk while the mother is on laud and goes 

 hungry until her return. 



