The Zoologist — March, 1871. 2493 



On the Sea-lion of Southern California. 

 By J. H. GuRNEY, Esq., F.L.S. 



I HAVE been receutly indebted to the kindness of a friend 

 resident at Santa Barbara for a copy of a work, which I believe 

 is scarce in this country, entitled 'A Sketch of the Settlement 

 and Exploration of Lower California,' by J. Ross Browne, 

 published at San Francisco, 1869; and in reading it have met 

 with the following remarks, which 1 think are of sufficient interest 

 to the naturalist to deserve being transferred to the pages of the 

 'Zoologist': — 



"The food of the seal is principally fish, but occasionally birds: 

 this is the case with the sea-lion particularly ; the manner in which 

 they decoy and catch the white and gray gulls exhibits a high 

 order of instinct : when in pursuit of these birds, the seal dives 

 deep under water, swims a short distance from where it dis- 

 appeared, then rises slowly again, just showing the tip of its nose 

 above the surface, giving it a rotatory motion, as we often see a 

 water-bug at play. The unwary bird on the wing, seeing the 

 object, ahghts near by to catch it: at that moment the animal 

 again settles, and at one bound, with extended jaws, seizes its 

 prey."— P. 130. 



The above extract is from a report contributed to the work by 

 Captain C. M. Scammon, of the U. S. Revenue Service ; the 

 following is from a report similarly furnished by Dr. John A. 

 Veatch : — 



"Towards the north end of Cerros Island is a great breeding- 

 place for sea-lions : it is a small bay two or three miles in length, 

 and perhaps three-fourths of a mile in breadth, surrounded on the 

 land by a perpendicular cliff, and on the ocean side by a belt of 

 kelp : it is thus protected from both wind and waves and it is 

 bordered with a sandy beach some two hundred paces in breadth. 

 * * * My first visit to this interesting locality was in the latter 

 part of July : seals in countless numbers literally covered the 

 beach ; they were of every conceivable size, from the young one, 

 seemingly a few days old, up to the full-grown animal. So uncon- 

 scious of danger were the little ones that they scarcely made an 



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