58 



pede of the cows to the harems below it is difficult to determine the status of harems 

 D, E, F, and G. 



"A young 6-yeai-old bull (Z), noted yesterday as trying to locate himself in the 

 slide, is now up above 1) and seems vei'y active. He annoys greatly the cows try- 

 ing to return to harem C, drugging them back down the slide as they climb the 

 rocks. One cow luis a particularly hard time. Siie bites liim severely in the throat 

 and on the Ijack. The other bulls do not seem much inclined to tackle him. They 

 are too lazy now. 



"A is still under the cliff in his position with 10 cows. One gets away and is 

 taken up by an idle bull above. He keeps the cow for a few minutes in the jiosition 

 formerly occupied by X. X has left his place and lies by the rock where Y used to 

 be. Y is down by the brow of the clitf, a little farther along tlian the position occu- 

 pied by an idle bull, which has kept his ])osition from the beginning. 



"In the cows now controlled by B tlu-re is a little brown one, very small; she 

 looks very much like what one would expect a virgin * cow to l)e. 



"July .3/.— The 'slide' visited at 3 o'clock. One pup observed Just born. Placenta 

 still attached. Cow fairly large, l)ut of the whitish color of those sujiposed to be 

 young. Doubtless she is a 3-year-old, with her first pup. She is in charge of a half 

 bull lately come on the water front. There are other cows in the. harem. A cow 

 draws up tlie pup to her l)rcast by the na]>c of the neck. 



"A large pod of pui)s are playing in the water. They seem to enjoy it great]j\ 

 Those entering the water are not confined to harems near shore. Wet ones are 

 obser\ ed at the very top of the slide. One wet jnip comes up to harem A. fie 

 waits a little an<l then goes back down the incline toward the water again. He is 

 watched two-thirds of the way down. The wot pups are scattered all about in 

 every pod of sleeping ones. Tliey seem even smaller than their fellows, but prob- 

 ably this is because tlie water lias smoothed down the fur. 



"A wet cow just in from the water is watched for a few minutes. She calls; three 

 or four pups answer. The cow ceases to call ; ])robably she has heard her pup, and 

 not wanting him until she is dry, she gives no further attention. No ])up comes to 

 her within half an hour. 



"A mother lying near the large green rock awakens and calls. Her pu]) responds 

 and comes to her. She is in a position which does not give the little fellow any 

 chance. The cow fusses about, calling to the puj), whf) keeps up a resjionse. Finally 

 the little one is pushed off the rock and slides down 10 feet. The nu/tlier is alarmed 

 and calls frantically. The pup comes to the foot of the rock and looks up, calling, 

 but can not climb the rock. The mother calls repeatedly. Finally the ynyi makes 

 a wide detour and gets up to the mother. She moves to a better place and the pup 

 takes his dinner. 



"The changes in the harems in the 'slide' goon. A has 10 eows. B has 6 cows 

 near him, and i^robabiy 4 more at some little distance are under his Jurisdiction. The 

 harems are all scattered out in irregular fashion. Among his nearest cows are 3 

 little white-breasted cows with dove-colored backs. They look like virgins. The 

 other cows are brown and larger. 



"The little cow, suj)))Osed to be a virgin last night and which was on the crest of 

 the sliile, a])iiears to be about halfway down in another harem. She is brown, but 

 very snuill, seeming to be the smallest cow seen. It is probable from her case that 

 the light color does not necessarily represent difi'erence in age, but rather individual 

 variation in color. t It can haidly be possible that it means simply that the brown 

 cow has ))eeu a longer time out of the water, as has been claimed. Have [G. A. C] 

 watched the rookeries from the time the latter exjilanation was first offered on 

 July 8, at St. (ieorge. These light cows were j)resent in numbers then, and they 

 have l)een and are present in about the same proportion ever since. Some of them 

 now on the rookeries are nursing pixjis as large and vigorous as any to be seen. 



"C has 19 cows. X is gone from Y's place. An idle bull from the rear has taken 

 his position — the old position of A. Y is still by the cliffs edge. X is lying flat iu 

 the edge of C's harem, which is crowded down toward the cliff". D has 20 cows, but 

 can not be certain. 'I'he young half bull Z, seen to tease the cows trying to return 

 from the slide to C's harem, lies sleeping iu the place where we left him last night. 

 There are l-J cows in the space formerly occupied by E, a dirt'erent bull in charge. 

 F and G can not be distinguished or counted with certainty. 



"August J. — A is still under the bank and has 4 cows, with possibly more out of 

 sight. The green-coated cow is not in sight. B has 8 cows; C, 23. X is now in D's 



* Later observations show that she was a virgin 2-year-old. 



t The true explanation seems to be this: The dark-colored cows, adult, come first. 

 The white-breasted cows are all young and most of them late comers. But some 

 even of the yearlings are brown underneath, like the old cows. 



