47 



perhaps 250 iu all ou tLe two islands, -wliitli have been killed by the bulls at the age 

 of from 2 to 6 weeks. Dissection of these large pnj)s shoMS in most cases collapsed 

 or congested lungs, occasionally ruptured blood vessels, broken skull, or other evi- 

 dences of violence. But two cases of death by trami)liug were known to have occurred 

 after August 10. 



LOST PUPS. 



In the early part of August a certain number of pups, perhaps 200 iu all on Ijoth 

 islands, were found to have died of starvation. Some of these were doubtless early 

 victims of pelagic sealing. The greater i)arr, however, must have been pups that 

 bad lost their motheije through the struggles of the bulls or by mischance at sea. 

 Some had strayed from the rookeries beyond the call of their mothers to the hauling 

 grounds or elsewhere. Witliiu th<' conlines of tiie roolveries themselves very few of 

 the pups become lost, as both pup and mother soon learn to recognize each other's 

 call. 



Dl'.OWXED PUP-;. 



A few pups ai-e drowned, but the number lost in this way is very small. On some 

 rookeries ex])osed to heavy surf (Tolstoi and Lagoon) a few young ones not yet able 

 to swim well are swe])t away or are caught in the crevices of the rocks by the rising 

 tide and drowned belbre they can extricate themselves. As soon, however, as the 

 pup is able to swim well, its adai)tation to the water is so perfect as to enable it to 

 frequent the sea at all times and in all conditions of weather with impunity. In the 

 heaviest surf that broke on St. Paul in October thousands of pups were always to be 

 seen jilaying in the breakers, and none were seen to be injured. The ability of the 

 pups to take care of themselves in rough water lias been underestimiited. 



Of 232 pups thrown up by the surf on the sands of English 15ay about August 1, 

 not one was found to have been drowned. They were simply tram])!edpups, which 

 the surf of the storm of the previous day had washed down from the lower portions 

 of the adjoining rookery — Tolstoi — the most crow'ded of all th(^ rookeries. The 

 "deadly surf nip," therefore, is a figure of speech, and drowning is a factor of very 

 slight importance in the destruction of pups. A few^ drowned pups are, however, ou 

 record, and of the whole 11,045, possibly 200 died from this cause. 



OTHER CAUSES OF DEATH. 



A few other pups are injured l»y the bite of cows, by falling from clilfs, by the fall 

 of rocks, by the idnching of rocks shifted by the waves, by being imiirisoned iu 

 cracks, by inllammation of the lungs, kidneys, or intestines, aud by unidentified acci- 

 dents. The IJurgomaster gull is almost constantly jsresent ou some rookeric^s. It 

 devours the eyes of dead pups, and may occasionally blind or even kill a live one. 

 The loss of eyes of four or five individuals is doubtfully attribixted to this cause. 



These matters will be discussed iu detail in tlu^ general rejiort l)y Mr. Lucas, who 

 has the record of al)out 150 dissections. It should be remembered that only pups 

 dying in early August were available for dissection. None of the early trampled 

 oues could 1)6 secured until too far decayed, as it was impossible to enter the rook- 

 eries in July. The cases examined were, however, fairly tyi)ical, as pups were being 

 born e\ery day upon the rookeries while the count was going on, and conditions were 

 practically the same as earlier in the season, cxcei)t that the fierceness of the bulls 

 had greatly abated at the time of the dissections. 



The causes of death in the early part of the seasou may be tlius roughly classified : 



Trampled upon by bulls when less than 2 weeks old 10, 295 



Trampled upou when 2 to 6 weeks old 250 



Starved to death 200 



Drowned 200 



Miscellaneous injuries 100 



Total 11,015 



The following notes are from the chapter on "The mortality among fur seals," pre- 

 pared for the general report by Frederic A. Lucas: 



"The appeuded list of autopsies gives the date of examination, the locality whence 

 the bodies were obtained, and states by whom the examinations were made. In 

 making them nothing was taken for granted, not even in cases of evidently starved 

 pups, while all bodies found in situations where they might have been drowned were 

 carefullj' examined to ascertain whether or not this were really the case. Care was 

 also taken not to confuse marks made by the pecking of gulls with contusions, for 

 such injuries about the eyes and frontal region, when inflicted shortly before or after 

 death, may readily be mistaken for the actual cause of death. Iu two instances, 



