EARED SEALS. 



119 



Between the 12th and 14th of June the first females make their appearance 

 on the Prybiloffs. When they first land, wet and dripping from the sea, they are 

 of a dirty grey colour, darker on the head and back than elsewhere ; but when 

 thoroughly dried their coat is of a steel-grey above, and nearly white beneath, with 

 a brilliant gloss. A few days' exposure to the weather is, however, sufficient to 

 tone down this brilliant dress to a sombre greyish brown above, and an ochrey tint 

 below. Immediately on their arrival, the females are received with most marked 

 attention by the males nearest the shore, but they are seldom allowed to rest long 

 with these, as the males on the more inland stations are ever on the watch to seize 

 and take possession of them during the time that their temporary masters are on 

 the look-out for fresh wives. In this manner the unhappy females may be seized 

 by the scruff of their necks as unceremoniously as a cat takes its kitten, and 

 passed on from male to male, until they reach a place of security in the stations 

 farthest away from the water. During all this time fierce contests are continually 

 taking place among the males. By the time of the arrival of the last batches of 

 females, which takes place usually between the 10th and 15th of July, the males 

 have become thoroughly exhausted, and have obtained as many females as they 

 desire. Consequently, the females are now allowed to crowd in through the fifteen 

 or sixteen rows of stations usually intervening between the shore till they reach 

 the open ground in the rear of the colony, where they congregate in droves, care- 

 fully selecting places w r here there are no pools of water. 



It is considered by Mr. Elliot that, on the average, each male in the neighbour- 

 hood of the shore has from twelve to fifteen females, while those more inland have 

 only from five to nine. One old male was observed with upwards of forty-five 

 females under his charge, but this individual was favoured by his situation, which 

 had but one path of access. A certain number of males in the rear of the colony 

 never obtain partners at all ; though towards the close of the season some of them 

 may step into the places of those of their sex as have to leave their stations 

 through exhaustion. The males display extreme courage in defending and main- 

 taining their positions; and will even stand being fired at with shot without 

 forsaking their posts. The females, on the other hand, are remarkable for their 

 gentle disposition, never quarrelling among themselves, and but seldom uttering 

 a cry when roughly handled and severely wounded by the contending males. 

 During their sleep the bodies of all the sea-bears are continually undergoing 

 various quivering and rolling motions, accompanied by twitchings of the paddles. 



The cubs are born shortly after the landing of the females, coming into the world 

 with their eyes open, and soon finding their voice, and taking to the water. It is 

 but rarely that there is more than a single cub at a birth. They weigh from 3 to 

 4 Ibs., and vary from 12 to 14 inches in length when born; their jet-black coat 

 being retained for three months. Both parents seem to treat their offspring with 

 marked indifference ; and a cub which has strayed a short distance from the station 

 of the father may be killed before the eyes of the mother without evoking any 

 concern on her part. Although the males will often rush right into the middle of 

 a whole party of cubs, it is but seldom that any of the latter are killed. 



After the birth of their offspring, the females appear to make frequent visits 

 to the sea, usually returning close to the spot where their cubs were left, and 



