26 



INTKUFERK.NCES FROM EXAMINATIOX. 



In tlie work of the present sumnier an excellent oi)portunity was aft'orded for 

 observing- the ellect of interferences npon the herd. The rookeries were under con- 

 stant inspection from early in July till late in October, and necessarily i'requeutly 

 visited. At the time of the counts of the dead pups of early August and late Sep- 

 tember it was necessary to drive the entire body of seals off to the hills or into the 

 water. In August thei-e was some tendency to stampede, and it was often an hour 

 or more before the members of a herd would return and settle themselves again in 

 their places. In September, however, they were reluctant to go from the rookeries, 

 whatever the effort to move tliem. It was found in most cases even diflicultto drive 

 them away at all. When driven away they resumed their places at once; in some 

 cases in tlie interval between driving off and the counting of the pups, necessitating 

 their removal a second time. 



The bachelors are considered more timid than the other seals, and more likely to 

 be affected by disturbance. They are, ifc is true, more easily frightened off, but this 

 is probably because they have no particular interest to hold them to one place as 

 have the l>ulls and cows. They are constantly driven during tlie season from haul- 

 ing ground to killing ground, being culled over and sent back to the sea only to 

 return and haul out on their favorite grounds a few hours or a few days later. This 

 process has been going on year after year for upward of half a century, abun- 

 dantly showing that the treatment of the bachelors on the islands does not drive 

 them away or change their habits. As for tlie breeding females and l)ull8, they are 

 not disturbed when on the islands excejit for pur])oses of investigation, and no evil 

 eli'ects come from this cause. As soon as a scaretl fur seal comes to rest he becomes 

 wholly indifferent as to matters of the past. When an idle bull was shot for scien- 

 tific purposes, an event which occurred several tiuu's, his fellows would come aljout 

 when the body was being skinned, sitting down on the sands at o or J rods distance, 

 showing a sleepy interest, but not the slightest trace of sympathy or fear. 



THE MORE VISITED THE BETTER, EXCEPT IX .lULY. 



In general the more frequently the seals are visited, except in the height of the 

 breeding season, the better for the herd, as they become used to the presence of man. 

 On the rookeries most visited by us — Ardiguen, Lukanin, Kitovi — the animals paid 

 least attention to our presence and showed least alarm or disturbance. In the height 

 of the season any intrusion of man produces some confusion. This is mainly because 

 the efforts of the bulls to (juiet their harems furnish a pretext for the invasion of the 

 rookeries by the waiting or idle bulls. In these struggles the ]inps may be injured. 

 But the stampedes or the (luarrels of the seals are matters of slight importance, 

 except as affecting the new-born ])ups. Nothing will stami)ede .an adult bull in the 

 height of the season. Hi- is absolutely fearless, .and he will not let his cows run away. 



The following noti', under date of August 1, is quoted from the daily journal of 

 observations: 



"The Ijull is much (jnicker to detect the nature of the intruder than the cow, 

 which fears man chietly when he is moving. A bachelor seal can often be surprised 

 when asleep, and the snr]n'ise is sometimes mutual, as a big fellow^ starts u]) un<'X- 

 pectedly from behind a rock and dashes away in great haste. If it is an old bull that 

 is surprised, he will plunge at y u ; but before he has gone 10 feet he will turn about 

 to see what his cows are doing. Then you can getaway, for alter he has once looked 

 back he goes no farther. He wnll turn from an intruder to interce]it the tlight of his 

 cows. This he does l)y snorting, growling, l)Iowing out his musky breath, by seizing 

 the cow and bending her neck backward to the ground, or by seizing her by the back 

 and tossing her over his head. The cows are afraid to leave when the bull exhorts 

 in this way, and during the jieriod when the harems are well defined the cows are 

 more afraid of the bull than of any intruder, lint after .July 20, when thecow\s have 

 become impregnated, their fear of the bull passes away, and the older ones do as they 

 please, running away when frightened. Later on the young cows also become more 

 independent. When a cow wa ts to go and the bull interposes, she Idtes him in the 

 neck. For the most part he takes it patiently enough, though sometimes the fur 

 comes aw^ay with the cow's sharp teeth." 



EFFECTS OF ODORS. 



It has been suggested that the smell of the decaying carcasses of the seals on the 

 killing grounds is offensive to the seals and is likely to drive them away. In refer- 

 ence to the odor itself, the following note, also taken from the journal of August 1, is 

 pertinent : 



"As to the indifference of the seals to the smell of decaying flesh, it is to be remem- 

 bered that llesh does not decay rapidly in the far north. A dead seal will remain 



