ii 4 CARNIVORES. 



sea-lion uttering only a deep, bass growl, and a prolonged, steady roar ; whereas 

 the Calit'ornian sea-lion never roars, but utters a sharp bark, sometimes almost 

 approaching a howl. 



The general habits of this species seem to be very similar to those of the 

 northern sea-lion. On the Farallones these seals are found in vast numbers, and 

 their barking is described as forming an incessant din. Captain Scammon, writing 

 of his experiences with these animals on the island of Santa Barbara, during the 

 sealing season of 1852, states that soon after the arrival of his party, about the 

 end of May, the colonies of Californian sea-lions "began to augment, and large 

 numbers of huge males made their appearance, belching forth sharp, ugly howls, 

 and leaping out of or darting through the water with surprising velocity, frequently 

 diving outside the rollers, the next moment emerging from the crest of the foaming 

 breakers and waddling up the beach with head erect, or, with seeming effort, 

 climbing some kelp-fringed rock to doze in the scorching sunbeams ; while others 

 would lie sleeping or playing among the beds of sea-weed, with their heads and 

 outstretched limbs above the surface. But a few days elapsed before a general 

 contention with the adult males began for the mastery of the different rookeries ; 

 and the victims of the bloody encounter were to be seen on all sides of the island, 

 with torn lips or mutilated limbs and gashed sides, while now and then an 

 unfortunate creature would be met with minus an eye, or with the orb forced from its 

 socket, and, together with other wounds, presenting a ghastly appearance. As the 

 time for ' hauling up ' drew near, the island became one mass of animation ; every 

 beach, rock, and cliff, where a seal could find foothold, became its resting-place, 

 while a countless herd of old males capped the summit, and the united clamourings 

 of the vast assemblage could be heard on a calm day for miles at sea. The south 

 side of the island is high and precipitous, with a projecting ledge, hardly perceptible 

 from the beach below, upon which one immense sea-lion managed to climb, and 

 there remained for several weeks." 



The same observer adds that " at the close of the season — -which lasts about 

 three months on the Californian coast — a large majority of the great herds, both 

 males and females, return to the sea, and roam in all directions in quest of food, 

 as but few of them could find sustenance about the waters contiguous to the islands, 

 or points on the mainland, which are their annual resorting places. They live 

 upon fish, molluscs, and sea-fowls, always with the addition of a few pebbles 

 or smooth stones, some of which are a pound in weight." The quantity of fish 

 consumed by these seals must, indeed, be enormous. Some years ago it was 

 estimated that the total number of sea-lions in the neighbourhood of San Fran- 

 cisco was upwards of twenty-five thousand, each of which consumed from 10 to 40 

 lbs. weight of fish per diem. In capturing gulls the Californian sea-lions display 

 no little skill and cunning. When in pursuit of a gull Captain Scammon states 

 that the seal dives deeply under water, and swims some distance from where it dis- 

 appeared, then, rising cautiously, it exposes the tip of its nose above the surface, at 

 the same time giving it a rotary motion, like that of a water-buoy at play. The 

 unwary bird on the wing, seeing the object near by, alights to catch it, while the 

 sea-lion at the same moment settles beneath the waves, and at one bound, with 

 extended jaws, seizes its screaming prey, and instantly devours it. 



