SEAL LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



On St. George, by the same method, we find the following; 



103 



Rookery. 



Zapadnie , 



Starry Arteel . 



North 



Little East 



East 



Total 



Area. 



Sq.feet. 



128, 171 

 64, 329 



128, 868 

 24,254 

 67, 884 



Kumber 

 of cows. 



2,786 

 1,398 

 2,800 

 527 

 1,476 



8,987 



The total for the two islands will be as follows : 



St, Paul 



Cows. 

 61, 436 



The number of breeding bulls, providing one for every 10 cows, as 

 already determined, will be as follows : 



Bulls. 

 St. Paul 3,839 



St. George 



563 



Total 4,402 



ESTIMATE OF BACHELORS. 



To count the bachelor seals on the hauling grounds is a much more 

 difficult task than to count the breeding cows. The bachelors are much 

 of the time in movement, going down to and returning from the water, 

 fighting among themselves, etc. Furthermore, they lie pretty evenly 

 distributed over the areas they occupy, rendering it extremely difticult 

 to select a single point on which the eye can rest as the count proceeds. 

 For these reasons a count of the bachelors is in most places practically 

 impossible. But there are other difficulties as well. The bachelors at 

 the water's edge and back of the rookeries are scattered and frequently 

 in situations in which they can not be well seen. On the large hauling 

 grounds the "drives" cause the number to rise and fall. Where there 

 are a thousand to-day there will be only a hundred to-morrow. Under 

 certain conditions of weather these young males resort to the land in 

 great numbers, while under other conditions they remain in the water. 

 All these disturbances and changes cause any direct count to be of little 

 value. 



The counting of the bachelors being deemed impracticable, it remains 

 to consider whether an estimate of their number can be made. It is 

 known by official count how many seals are killed during the season, 

 and counts were also made by myself and by the assistant Treasury 

 agent this year of the number rejected from the majority of the killings. 



There is great confusion in the " pods" or little bands of seals when 

 the killers attack them, and the seals rejected when once started often 

 move oft" rapidly. Hence the enumeration of the rejected seals can 

 not invariably be made with entire accuracy. Still, as I learned by 

 recounting, the error is only slight, and not sufficient to aflect the 

 general result. We have then an exact count of the number killed 

 and an approximately accurate account of those rejected. Upon ascer- 

 taining what relation the latter bears to the former we can determine 



