460 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



the islands of Santa Barbara, Cerros, Guadalupe, San Bonito, 

 Natividad, San Roque, and Asuncion, and some of the most 

 inaccessible points on the main-land between Asuncion and 

 Cerros. When coming up out of the water, they were generally 

 first seen near the line of surf; then crawling up by degrees, 

 frequently reclining as if to sleep; again, moving up or along 

 the shore, appearing not content with their last resting-place. 

 In this manner they would ascend the ravines, or 'low-downs,' 

 half a mile or more, congregating by hundreds . . . Not- 

 withstanding their unwieldiness, we have sometimes found 

 them on broken and elevated ground, fifty or sixty feet above 

 the sea" (Scammon, 1874, p. 117). Apparently more were 

 found ashore at times of having young and during the period 

 of shedding fur. 



In the middle of the last century the elephant seals were 

 actively pursued by sealers for the sake of their oil, which was 

 deemed "superior to whale oil for lubricating purposes." On 

 approaching a rookery the sealers would get between the herd 

 and the water; "then, raising all possible noise by shouting, 

 and at the same time flourishing clubs, guns, and lances, the 

 party advances slowly toward the rookery, when the animals 

 will retreat, appearing in a sta^te of great alarm." Those that 

 stood their ground or showed fight were shot or dispatched 

 with a blow on the head from a heavy oaken club or were 

 lanced. The sealers, then rushing upon the main body, killed 

 as many as they could before the panic-stricken animals, roar- 

 ing loudly, could return to the sea. The blubber was then 

 stripped off in long pieces, which were towed to the vessel for 

 trying out. Scammon speaks of a large bull, 18 feet long taken 

 at Santa Barbara Island, that yielded 210 gallons of oil. The 

 breeding season is from February to June and as usual with 

 seals, a single young one is born. 



Their comparative helplessness when on shore and even 

 tameness made their destruction easy, and it became evident 

 soon after the middle of last century that their numbers were 

 being rapidly reduced, and by the decade 1870-80 they are 

 spoken of as already nearly exterminated on the California 

 coast. By the end of the last century there remained a single 

 small colony on Guadalupe Island, which though occasionally 

 raided escaped destruction. With the passing of protective 

 legislation this colony has slowly increased. According to the 



