398 THE FUR SKALS OF THE I'KIBILOF ISLANDS. 



A bull ill copulation is very clumsy; lie lias liis mouth open and seems iiincli 

 fatigued; draws otl' when done, with inouth open and groans. The cow is an old one 

 without large mamma-; may have lost her pup. The bull is excessively thiu. The 

 cow tries to get away now that it is over, but the bull resists. They bite each other 

 in the usual way. 



There are 40 bulls in all with harems in Little Polovina. Forty-five were counted 

 in July. There are many tine pups. The jnortality is small, partly because there is- 

 no great body of seals pressing down from behind. There is a iiassageway down to 

 the sea in the middle of the rookery, rather smooth and rocky, but there are no dead 

 pups in it. 



An evil-minded old bull runs over 5 or G pups and falls with his breast on one, 

 which toddles off seemingly not hurt. It takes a heavy weight to crush these sturdy 

 iellows when they are a month old. Those that have succumbed were for the most 

 part but a few hours old. 



KOOKKRY INSrECTION. 



Going through a rookery from end to end in this way makes some disturbance 

 and excitement. Cows, bachelors, and pups tlce in haste: bulls go slowly and try to 

 stop the cows; some stand their ground and can not be moved, but they are few at 

 this stage. In three minutes, however, the whole excitement is over, and as soon as 

 you pass they resume their places. 



At this season half of the bachelors are in the water off' the rookeries; half 

 asleep in the banks behind; many, especially the older ones, in tlie sand. Cows take 

 to the water when alarmed, but probably soon return. Wet cows coming in after 

 feeding are less numerous now than ten days ago. More than two-thirds of the cows 

 are oft' all the time. There is a large and well-beaten hauling ground far from the 

 breeding grounds, midway between Little Polovina and the main rookery. The 

 bachelors come up through a narrow runway in the cliff's. 



DEAD PUPS — POLOVINA CLIFFS. 



Cows are apparently not heavy enough to crush strong pups a month old. They 

 run over them without compunction. A bull steps on a little weak pup under the 

 cliff's. It is apparently not hurt much, but walks away slowly as if dazed. Two dead 

 pups were apparently killed by falling stones and dirt from the cliff above. More 

 than a fair proportion of starved i)ups would appear on dissection. A pup losing 

 its mother three weeks ago would still be fresh if dead. None of the rotten pups 

 could have starved. 



There are some yearling females on the hauling ground. No dead adults. 

 Twenty of the dead imps are seen along the edge of the hauling ground: scarcely any 

 in most harems. There are 51 dead pups in all on the cliffs portion of I'olovina. 



POLOVINA — COUNT OF DEAD PUPS. 



Mr. Clark began the count of the main rookery at the angle of I'olovina sands. 

 It was found possible to ]>ass along the brow of the cliff' and also the flat for some 

 distance back, driving the seals into the water or inland. By returning along the 

 outer edge of the harems and driving the seals into the area counted it was jiossible 

 to closely inspect and count the entire area. 



