EARED SEALS. „ 5 



The Californian sea-lion is the species most commonly seen in captivity in 

 Europe, as it appears to thrive better than any other of the eared seals in that 

 state. 



In captivity these sea-lions display great affection for one another; and when 

 one of a pair dies the survivor not unfrequently pines away and dies soon after. 

 From observations made on captive specimens in Chicago, it appears that before 

 the cub takes to the water the parent secretes a kind of oily fluid from her body, 

 with which the hair of the cub becomes anointed, owing to both animals rolling on 

 the same spot. 



Hooker's With this sea-lion (0. hookeri), we come to a southern species of 



sea-Lion. hair-seal, first obtained from the Auckland Islands, lying to the south 

 of New Zealand, during the voyage of the Erebus and Terror. This species, of 

 which examples have of late years been exhibited alive in the London Zoological 

 Society's Gardens, is subject to great variation in colour, some specimens being 

 gn \ isli, while others have a more or less markedly brown tinge. The head 

 is readily distinguished from that of the preceding species by its nearly straight 

 profile; the muzzle is of considerable length, the ear of medium size, and the 

 bristles on the muzzle well developed. The skull is characterised by the extreme 

 narrowness of the palate, and has seven upper cheek-teeth — in the latter respect 

 agreeing with that of the southern sea-lion. 

 Australian Hair- The hair-seal (0. lobata), inhabiting the seas of Australia, appears 



SeaL to form a kind of connecting link between the hair and the fur-seals, 

 the cubs having a thick coat of soft under-fur, which quite disappears in the 

 adult. This indicates that the distinction between hair and fur-seals is of no great 

 zoological importance, although it forms a convenient mode of classifying the 

 members of this difficult group. The profile of the head is nearly straight, and the 

 whole head large and massive, with rather small ears. The males are considerably 

 darker than the females, and the cubs are black. From the presence of a stripe 

 of rich deep fawn colour (which is lighter than the general tint of the body) 

 running across the hinder part of the head, nape, and sides of the neck, the name 

 of cowled seal has been applied to this species. The general length of old males is 

 from 8 to 9 feet, but few such specimens are stated now to exist. These seals were 

 found abundantly in King George's Sound, and also in Bass Strait. The Seal 

 Rocks off Port Stephens, to the northward of Sydney, partly derive their name 

 from the presence of colonies of this species. 



The Northern Sea-Bear (Otaria wrsina). 



The well-known northern sea-bear, or northern fur-seal, is the first representa- 

 tives of the true fur-seals, and the only one found in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 In this, as in the other fur-seals, the pelage is soft, with an abundant under-fur ; 

 and the colour of the adult is some shade of dark grey, while the young are black. 

 There are six cheek-teeth in the upper jaw. 



The northern sea-bear, as shown in the accompanying illustration, is 

 distinguished at a glance from all the southern fur-seals by its extremely short 



in which the profile is nearly straight, and likewise by its relatively weak 



