Evermann. — Fishery Resources of Pacific 211 



the result that the rookery on the Farallons was entirely 

 wiped out by 1834. Not a single fur seal has been seen on 

 those islands since that year, although it is not impossible 

 that a few may be left on one of the uninhabited islands of 

 that group. 



It is known that fur seals continued to be killed about 

 certain of the Channel Islands for many years after they 

 were commercially exterminated at the Farallons, and at 

 certain islands off Lower California as late as 1892. There 

 is good reason to believe a few still persist about some of the 

 isolated unfrequented islands whose rocky shores contain 

 caves which the fur seals frequent and in which they may 

 escape observation. 



The fur seal which occurred on Guadalupe Island and, 

 presumably, on the other islands off the coast of Lower 

 California, was the Guadalupe fur seal (Artocephalus 

 townsendi), a species distinct from the Alaska fur seal 

 (Callorhinus alascanus) and, of course, distinct from the 

 Russian and Japanese species (Callorhinus ursinus and 

 Callorhinus curilensis) . What the species was that 

 frequented the Farallons and the other California islands is 

 not certainly known, as there is no specimen in any 

 museum. In all probability it was the same species as that 

 found on the Lower California coast — the Guadalupe fur seal. 



Fur seals were formerly abundant not only on the coast 

 of California and Mexico, but in many other places further 

 south. Among islands which they at one time frequented in 

 large numbers may be mentioned the following : 



1. The Galapagos Islands. Up to the beginning of the 

 present century fur seals were abundant about these islands 

 and a few are known to persist. Several were killed in 1905 — 

 1906, and recent reports indicate that enough remain to 

 justify the belief that the herd can be restored. These is- 

 lands belong to Ecuador and that country should be interested. 



2. Islands on the coast of Peru. Among the islands on 

 the coast of Peru where fur seals were once common are 

 Lobos de Afuera and Lobos de Tierra. It is believed a few 

 fur seals still remain in those waters. 



3. Chile. At one time perhaps the largest fur-seal rook- 

 eries in the world were found on Mas-a-Tierra and Mas-a- 

 Fuera of the Juan Fernandez group on the coast of Chile. 

 Smaller herds occurred on other smaller islands off the south- 

 ern end of Chile. In the early part of the last century millions 

 of seals were killed in those waters and the herd was com- 

 mercially wiped out. But it is now known that the 



