Aquatic Mammals 251 



fur seals the sea elephant probably lives 

 on small fish and squid, but captives do 

 well on raw fish finely chopped. The 

 elephant seal is remarkably plastic and 

 can bend backwards till its snout nearly 

 touches its heels, a feat impossible to 

 any animal with the exception of the 

 human contortionist. 



In the Hooded Seal of the Arctic Seas, 

 a near relative of the sea elephant, the 

 nose is surmounted by a loose sac, which 

 can be inflated with air until it doubles 

 the size of the animal's head. 



It may be mentioned, in conclusion, that 

 in recent years nearly 400 fur seals have 

 been annually slaughtered in the South 

 Shetlands alone. According to latest 

 reports no definite steps have yet been 

 taken despite a certain amount of agita- 

 tion, to protect the Guadaloupe colony of 

 sea elephants. The Mexican Govern- 

 ment, however, hopes to give the matter 

 some attention revolutions permitting. 



