1867.] MR. SCLATER ON ADDITIONS TO THE MENAGERIE. 819 



Richard Wells, of the steam whaler ' Arctic,' belonging to Messrs. 

 Alexander Stephen and Co., on the 28th of August last, under the 

 following circumstances : — A herd of from 200 to 300 of these ani- 

 mals was met with on the ice by the 'Arctic' in lat. G9° N., long. 

 64° W. A boat's crew was landed on the ice, and the herd attacked 

 and several individuals killed, amongst which was a large female. 

 The body of the latter, being attached to the boat and rowed towards 

 the vessel, was followed by a young male, who swam and dived around 

 and refused to quit his deceased parent. This being noted, he was 

 captured by a noose swung over his head and one fore limb from the 

 ship and hauled on board. For some days the captive was kept tied 

 to a ring-bolt on deck, and refused food altogether. Subsequently 

 he was induced to swallow thin slips of boiled pork, and was thus 

 fed until the vessel reached the Shetlands, when a supply of fresh 

 mussels was provided for its use. A large box with openings at the 

 sides was fabricated ; and the animal, secured therein, was brought 

 safely into Dundee on the 26th ult. From that port to London the 

 Walrus had been conveyed in the steamer 'Anglia,' under the care of 

 the Society's Superintendent. The animal was a male, with partially 

 developed tusks, about the same size as the Sea-bear lately in the 

 Society's Gardens, but more bulky in appearance. Although proba- 

 bly not a year old, it was 8 feet long, and weighed perhaps 2y cwt. 



The only specimen of the Walrus previously acquired by the So- 

 ciety had been a young individual received in 1853, which had been 

 brought home, in a vessel engaged in the seal-fishery on the coast of 

 Spitzbergen, by Capt. Henry of Peterhead. This animal was, how- 

 ever, in a moribund state on its arrival, and lived only a few days in 

 the Gardens*. 



With reference to the present specimen of the Walrus the follow- 

 ing remarks were addressed to the Meeting by Mr. A. D. Bartlett, 

 the Superintendent of the Society's Gardens : — 



" In the fifth volume of Sir Everard Home's Supplement to the 

 ' Lectures on Comparative Anatomy,' at page 4, on the organs of di- 

 gestion of the Walrus, it is stated that the food of this animal con- 

 sisted principally of a species of seaweed ; it is, however, remarked 

 that the stomach of this animal differs from all others fitted for 

 this purpose. A figure of the stomach is given in vol. vi. pi. 1 ; the 

 dimensions are also given in the letterpress and on the plate to scale. 

 According to these figures the stomach is no less than 16 feet in 

 length and 4 feet wide ; which wonderful blunder appears to have 

 escaped notice. 



" As regards the present animal, I may state that on my arrival 

 at Dundee on the 29th of October, I found the young Walrus in a 

 very restless state, and, as I thought, hungry ; it was being fed 

 upon large mussels ; about twenty of these were opened at a meal ; 

 and the poor beast was thus fed about three times a day." 



" I immediately told the owners that I thought the animal was 

 being starved, and suggested that some fish should be tried. To 



* See, for figures taken from this animal, Wolf and Sclater, ' Zool. Sketches,' 

 vol. i. pi. 18. 



