EARED SEALS. 119 
Between the 12th and 14th of June the first females make their appearance 
on the Prybilofts. When they first land, wet and dripping from the sea, they are 
of a dirty grey colour, darker on the head and back than elsewhere; but when 
thoroughly dried their coat is of a steel-grey above, and nearly white beneath, with 
a brilliant gloss. A few days’ exposure to the weather is, however, sufficient to 
tone down this brilliant dress to a sombre greyish brown above, and an ochrey tint 
below. Immediately on their arrival, the females are received with most marked 
attention by the males nearest the shore, but they are seldom allowed to rest long 
with these, as the males on the more inland stations are ever on the watch to seize 
and take possession of them during the time that their temporary masters are on 
the look-out for fresh wives. In this manner the unhappy females may be seized 
by the scruff of their necks as unceremoniously as a cat takes its kitten, and 
passed on from male to male, until they reach a place of security in the stations 
farthest away from the water. During all this time fierce contests are continually 
taking place among the males. By the time of the arrival of the last batches of 
females, which takes place usually between the 10th and 15th of July, the males 
have become thoroughly exhausted, and have obtained as many females as they 
desire. Consequently, the females are now allowed to crowd in through the fifteen 
or sixteen rows of stations usually intervening between the shore till they reach 
the open ground in the rear of the colony, where they congregate in droves, care- 
fully selecting places where there are no pools of water. 
It is considered by Mr. Elliot that, on the average, each male in the neighbour- 
hood of the shore has from twelve to fifteen females, while those more inland have 
only from five to nine. One old male was observed with upwards of forty-five 
females under his charge, but this individual was favoured by his situation, which 
had but one path of access. A certain number of males in the rear of the colony 
never obtain partners at all; though towards the close of the season some of them 
may step into the places of those of their sex as have to leave their stations 
through exhaustion. The males display extreme courage in defending and main- 
taining their positions; and will even stand being fired at with shot without 
forsaking their posts. The females, on the other hand, are remarkable for their 
gentle disposition, never quarrelling among themselves, and but seldom uttering 
a ery when roughly handled and severely wounded by the contending males. 
During their sleep the bodies of all the sea-bears are continually undergoing 
various quivering and rolling motions, accompanied by twitchings of the paddles. 
The cubs are born shortly after the landing of the females, coming into the world 
with their eyes open, and soon finding their voice, and taking to the water. it is 
but rarely that there is more than a single cub at a birth. They weigh from 3 to 
4 lbs., and vary from 12 to 14 inches in length when born; their jet-black coat 
being retained for three months. Both parents seem to treat their offspring with 
marked indifference ; and a cub which has strayed a short distance from the station 
of the father may be killed before the eyes of the mother without evoking any 
concern on her part. Although the males will often rush right into the middle of 
a whole party of cubs, it is but seldom that any of the latter are killed. 
After the birth of their offspring, the females appear to make frequent visits 
to the sea, usually returning close to the spot where their cubs were left, and 
