LOWER ANIMALS. 227 



THE BEAVER. 



The beaver is by far the most intelligent of the smaller wild 

 animals. The young remain with their parents until three years 

 of age, after which they commence a colony of their own. 15 Al- 

 though beavers only weigh from 30 to 60 pounds, this makes them 

 begin breeding later than either the horse or the cow, and later 

 than any other active animal anywhere near them in size. I have 

 not been able to learn how long they live, so cannot estimate the 

 average age of reproduction. I find, however, that the young ones 

 assist in building the dams and lodges, so that they have at least 

 two years of practical education before they commence producing 

 young ones of their own. 



SEALS AND DEER. 



The seal is another very intelligent animal. The brain is large 

 with many convolutions. Seals are easily tamed, affectionate, and 

 docile; at zoological gardens they are taught to sit erect, to bow, 

 to kiss the hand, pretend to be asleep and to snore, turn the crank 

 of an organ, shoulder a gun, shake hands, and perform other sim- 

 ilar tricks. 16 All male seals under six years of age are "bachelor 

 seals" and do not go to the breeding grounds. Elliott estimates 

 that, under normal conditions, the bull of the Alaska fur seal lives 

 to an average age of 18 to 20 years, and the cows to an average of 

 ten or twelve years. He also estimates the average age of males 

 on the rookeries at 15 to 20 years and the females at 9 to 10 

 years. 17 If the first estimate is correct it would appear that the 

 last estimate was high. The difference in age of the males and 



(15) Martin, Castorologia, p. 48; also Brown, Animals and Birds, p. 7. 



(16) American Cyclopaedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 730-1 



(17) Brown, Animals and Birds, pp. 175 to 186. 



