EARED SEALS. 



123 



<>f skin projecting in advance of the toes of the hind-flippers are much less elongated 

 The Southern fur-seals are also, as a role, decidedly greyer in colour than their 

 northern cousin. There is still some uncertainty as to the number of species 

 belonging to this group, and their resemblance to one another is so close that it 

 requires an expert to distinguish between them. 

 South American The South American, or Falkland Island fur-seal (0. austral is) 



Fur-seals, inhabits the Galapagos Islands, and the shores and islands of South 

 America southwards from Chili on the western, and from the Rio de la Plata on the 

 eastern side; being more numerous on the Falkland and South Shetland Islands 

 than on the continent itself. The males attain a length of from 6 to 7 feet, while 

 tin- females average about 5 feet; the disproportion between the sexes being thus 

 much less than in the northern sea-bear. The colour of the fur is distinctly grey. 

 The habits of this species seem to be very similar to those of its 

 northern cousin ; the old males arriving on the Falklands before the 

 females, and similar contests taking place for the possession of the latter, which 

 arrive in December. The cubs are born during the same month, and are able to 

 swim well by February. The j^oung males remain at sea during the greater part 

 of the summer, not landing till February or March. They sojourn on land till the 

 latter part of April, when they again take to the water ; but towards the end of 

 June, they once more visit the shore for several weeks, remaining partly on land 

 ami partly in the sea. When AYeddell visited the South Shetlands during his 

 voyage, lasting from 1818 to 1821, these seals were very numerous, and had so 

 little fear of man that numbers of them were killed and skinned without disturbing 

 the remainder of the party. Moseley, during the voyage of the Challenger, found, 

 as already mentioned, these seals still fairly numerous on Kerguelen's Land, although, 

 from the reckless way in which they were slaughtered, they appeared in imminent 

 danger of total extermination. Like the sea-lions of the same regions, the southern 

 fur-seals prey at times upon penguins. 



The Cape fur-seal (0. pusiUa) is a very well-marked species, 

 characterised by the straight profile of the head, the overhanging 

 and sharply-pointed muzzle, the relatively long ears, and the extreme length of the 

 numerous bristles depending from the upper lip. A living example, formerly 

 exhibited in the London Zoological Society's Gardens, had a whitish red fur 

 grizzled with blackish hairs, while the under-parts were of a reddish brown colour. 

 This seal appears to be confined to South Africa, inhabiting the small islands round 

 tin' Cape of Good Hope, as well as others some forty miles distant from Port 

 Elizabeth. It probably also once inhabited Tristan da Cunha. It is still fairly 

 Common, but its fur is of comparatively little value, owing to the shortness of the 

 hair, although that of the young animals is longer. Some years ago, from 70,000 

 to 80,000 skins were annually imported from the Cape into London, but the number 

 is now much reduced. In Algoa Bay as many as from 200 to 300 of these seals 

 have been taken during a single night. 

 New Zealand There has been much uncertainty with regard to the fur-seals 



Fur-seal. f fa e Australian seas, but it now appears that there is but one 

 spt'cies, namely, the New Zealand fur-seal (0. forsteri), of which the so-called 

 cinereous fur-seal (0. cinerea), according to Mr. H. O. Forbes, is the female. This 



