THE SEA BEAR, OR URSINE SEAL. 519 



color of the male Sea Lion is a reddish-brown, which becomes paler after the animal 

 is advanced in years. Upon the neck and shoulders is a heavy mass of stiff, curly, 

 crisp hair, which bears some resemblance to the mane of the lion, and has earned for 

 the creature the name of Sea Lion. The female is destitute of this mane, and her fur 

 is sometimes chestnut and sometimes ochry-brown. 



It is not exclusively confined to the localities above mentioned, but is sometimes seen 

 off the coast of Northern America, in the month of July. During the autumn the 

 Sea Lions are found in very great numbers upon the shores of Behring's Island, 

 where they assemble for the purpose of rearing their young through the first few 

 weeks of their life. They are polygamous, but restrict themselves to three or four 

 females. 



They are naturally quiet and peaceable animals, permitting the approach of man- 

 kind with great indifference, and suffering themselves to be roughly treated before they 

 will condescend to move from the spot on which they may happen to be lying. The 

 hunters make easy prey of these slothful animals, which are not so active as the ele- 

 phant Seal, nor so fierce as the walrus. The females seem to be more apathetic respect- 

 ing their cubs than is generally the case among Seals, and will frequently relinquish 

 their offspring in their haste to escape from their human foes. The natives are in the 

 habit of killing the Sea Lions by poisoned arrows, or by harpoons. As the wounded 

 animal would be sufficiently strong to escape in spite of the harpoons, the native hunters 

 attach the harpoon-line to a post firmly planted in the ground, and are thus enabled to 

 delay the Sea Lion until they can inflict a fatal wound. 



They are marvellously blatant animals, keeping up a continual chorus of vociferations 

 as long as they are on land. The old males are the most noisy of thfe party, snorting 

 discordantly, and roaring like magnified lions. The females answer by loud bleatings, 

 and the young of both sexes add their voices in a less degree. The united cries of a 

 large herd of Sea Lions are so deafening, that human senses are almost stunned by the 

 clangorous uproar. 



This species is said to feed upon fish and smaller Seals, being extremely dreaded by 

 the latter animals, and ruling supreme in its own domains. The teeth of the Sea Lion 

 are very singular in their shape and arrangement, the molars being furnished with sharp 

 trenchant points, some of the incisors double-headed, and others long and pointed like 

 canine teeth. 



As the mane-clad neck and shoulders of the preceding animal have earned for it 

 the title of Sea Lion, so the generally ursine aspect of the present species has gained 

 the name of SEA BEAR. 



It is not a very large animal, being hardly eight feet in length. As its limbs are larger 

 and better developed than in the generality of the Seals, it can stand and walk in more 

 active manner than any of the preceding members of the phocine family. The color of 

 its fur is very pleasing, the long hairs being of a grayish-brown, while the thick soft wool 

 that lies next to the skin is reddish-brown. The fur is extremely soft and warm, and of 

 high value as an article of commerce. When it is dressed by the furriers, the entire 

 coating of long hairs is removed, the wool only being left adherent to the skin. Upon the 

 neck and shoulders of the male animal there is a kind of mane, composed of rather stiff 

 hairs about two inches in length, and of a grizzled aspect, the hairs themselves being 

 jetty black, and their tips white. The whole of the fur is thick and long, and does 

 not lie closely to the body. 



It is not so easily caught as the sea lion, for it is not only very active in the water, but 

 can proceed upon land with such rapidity that a man who wishes to overtake an 

 affrighted Sea Bear will be forced to exert his utmost speed before he can attain his 

 object. 



The Sea Bears are found in great numbers about Kamtschatka and the Kuril islands, 

 and at the beginning of summer are so numerous as to blacken the banks on which they 

 repose. Being polygamous, the males are extremely jealous, and will not suffer any 

 strangers to approach the limits of his own family. The entire sea-beach is therefore map- 

 ped out, so to speak, in little domains, each belonging to a separate family, and guarded 

 with the most jealous care. As the number of females over which a single male bears sway 



