468 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



species that, if unmolested, rather quickly breeds up to con- 

 siderable numbers; for in the various instances where depleted 

 populations have been given protection, their numbers have 

 doubled and trebled in relatively brief spaces of time. This 

 may indicate an almost complete lack of "natural" enemies 

 correlated with the large size of the animals. Perhaps the 

 killer whale may occasionally attack a young animal, but the 

 size of the young by the time it takes to sea may again be its 

 protection. Furthermore, this rapid recuperation may indicate 

 a normal sex proportion and a regularity in breeding. 



As pointed out by Dr. R. C. Murphy (1918), the methods of 

 killing and utilizing these seals as formerly practiced by the 

 sealing crews are both cruel and wasteful. "After the slain 

 'elephant' has been allowed to bleed thoroughly, the hide is 

 slit lengthwise down the back, and then transversely in several 

 places from the dorsal incision to the ground. The flaps of 

 hide are next skinned off, and the remaining investment of 

 white blubber, which may have a maximum thickness of about 

 eight inches, is dissected away from the underlying muscle 

 and cut into squarish blanket pieces. The animal is then 

 rolled over and the same process repeated on the ventral side. 

 Thus the hide, and the considerable amount of blubber which 

 clings to it, are lost at the start." The large blanket pieces 

 are then towed out to the waiting vessel, and allowed to soak 

 for about 48 hours until the red blood is washed out, after 

 which they are hauled on board, minced very finely with hand 

 knives, and finally tried out in the deck try- works. During 

 this process there is considerable further loss of oil. In the 

 more recent operations by the Norwegian whalers at South 

 Georgia, the sea-elephant oil supplements that secured from 

 the whales. "The chunks of sea-elephant blubber are left 

 attached to the skin, and loaded into a steamer's hold, after 

 which the cargo hide, fat, blood, dirt and all is dumped into 

 steam try-works at the whaling station and reduced to oil 

 and slag. " 



