Selous: Observations on the Grey Seal. 219 
now went forward as before, but it had become too dark for 
me to follow it, and, short as the distance was, I thought I 
had better make sure of the way back to my tent. This I 
did, and then returned again. I could just see that the old 
Seal and her calf were lying in the same juxtaposition towards 
one another as I had left them in, though, as I should suppose, 
the latter would, long ere now, have had all the nourishment 
it required. Ithen left them again for my tent, and after some 
rude eating. (the sweeter for being so), turned in. 
To the above I have to add that, whilst the mother Seal 
was lying on the rock, and had not yet begun her further 
ascent, another full-grown one had, several times, appeared 
just under the shore, floating upright, for the most part, in 
the water, with his head held high out of it and flung right back. 
He often shook it, with his whole throat, and whether doing 
so or not, often kept his jaws wide open. I assumed that this 
was the male, and husband of the alma mater on the rocks, as 
also that acomplaining cry, as it sounded, having a wonderfully 
human intonation, which came, first at intervals, and latterly, 
almost continuously, proceeded from him. This, however, as 
will appear, by my next entry, was probably a mistake. 
Ocr. 12TH.—The sound that I yesterday attributed to the 
male Seal I have now heard made several times by the last-fed 
calf, at close quarters, so that I feel pretty sure it was it that 
so cried to be fed, and not the male. Also both since then, as 
well as formerly in the Shetlands, I have seen these Grey Seals 
holding their heads thus straight out of the water and opening 
their mouths, at intervals, without uttering any sound. Early 
in the morning of this day I saw from my tent two grown 
Seals—I think a male and female—constantly swimming and 
‘peg topping’ (as I have elsewhere called it, floating, that is 
to say, perpendicularly) in the water, close to the shore of the 
little bay or nook where I saw the first young Seal fed, and, 
after awhile, I saw this same young Seal (as I make no doubt 
it was) go up out of the sea on to the rocks again. I could 
only see it, for a little, however ; the rocks soon hid it, and one 
was just in front of where it at last settled down though I 
could sometimes see the end of its outstretched flipper above 
it. Probably it lay on its back, which, I find, is a favourite 
attitude with these young Grey Seals, as it is with the full- 
grown Common one. I fancy it is less so with the species in 
question, but must look up my ‘ Bird Watcher in the Shetlands’ 
again to be sure of this. 
Dr. Heatherley, with Mr. King and his son, turned up from 
the yacht about II a.m., with the different parts of a wooden 
shed, to put together, upon the rocks, for the purposes of photo- 
graphy. On repairing to the place where I had yesterday 
watched the suckling of a young Seal, there was now, besides 
1915 July 2. 
