236 CARNIVORA PINNIPEDIA. 



ever to select positions where there are no depressions 

 in which the water can collect in puddles. 



Pairing begins immediately after the birth of the cubs, 

 who are born shortly after the landing of the females, 

 and come into the world with their eyes open. At birth 

 the young Sea Bears weigh from three to four pounds, 

 and measure from ten to twelve inches. Their skins are 

 valueless, but many of the young Seals are killed by the 

 natives for food. The females make frequent visits to 

 the sea after the birth of their offspring, and the cubs at 

 such times gather together by thousands. A mother Seal 

 upon her return from the water never has any difficulty, 

 however, in singling out her own offspring by its cries, but 

 will without a moment's hesitation and with unerring cer- 

 tainty push her way direct to the spot in the assembly 

 where it happens to be. 



Early in August the bulls leave their families, and 

 the majority of them do not return to the islands after 

 going to the sea; and those who do come back, instead 

 of returning to their stations, remain near the shore until 

 the colony migrates in the fall. After the departure of 

 the males the family parties break up ; the females and the 

 cubs, together with the older males who did not succeed 

 i-n getting partners, and the younger males who up to this 

 time have been prevented by their older brethren from 

 gaining a footfold on the shore, take possession of the 

 entire sea area in a very disorderly manner. At this 

 period the females spend three-fourths of their time in 

 the water, and the cubs nearest the shore make their first 

 attempts at swimming. Though at first they are very 

 awkward and tire quickly the cubs soon become adepts 

 at the art, and by the middle of September all the young 

 have become thoroughly familiar with the water, and have 

 deserted the higher ground to take positions on the rocks 

 and beaches near the water's edge, where they remain 

 until the southward migration of the colony begins a few 

 weeks later. 



By November the islands are deserted by the great 

 mass of Sea Bears, although a few remain until driven 

 off by the ice and snow in December. 



The Sea Bears, which the lessees had the privilege of 

 killing on the Pribilov Islands, are the males from one to 



