STALKING SEALS WiTH A CAMERA. 
Written and Illustrated with Photographs by C. V. A. PEEL, F.z.s. 
APPILY for British seals their coats are of little or no commercial value. They 
are hair seals and belong to quite a different family from the sea-bears, which 
furnish the sealskin jackets. 
Seals are comparatively scarce round the English coasts, their true home and 
breeding-grounds being situated on the west coasts and outer islands of Scotland. 
No less than five seals visit our coasts; but by far the commonest are the Common 
Seal and the Grey Seal. The Ringed Seal is a rare visitor from the Norwegian fjords ; 
the Harp Seal has occasionally been taken in the Thames and Severn, and the Hooded 
Seal is the rarest of all. No British seal has either external ears or under-fur. 
The Grey Seal is a large animal, and breeds extensively in the Outer Hebrides. 
A fine specimen will measure between eight and nine feet, and weigh four hundred 
pounds. This species is easily distinguished from others by the formation of the 
relatively large cheek-teeth, which are composed of but a single cusp; and with the 
exception of the last one or two in the upper, and the last one in the lower 
jaw, the teeth are implanted in the jaws by means of only a single root each. The 
young are white or yellowish-white at birth, and remain so for upwards of a year, 
when they turn grey, marked with a number of blackish spots. Many specimens are 
silvery-white, with few traces of spots, whilst others are almost black. ‘The grey seal 
is wilder and less intelligent than the common seal, and cannot be trained and taught 
to do tricks so easily as the smaller animal. 
The Common Seal breeds in great numbers in the summer in the outer islands off 
the west coasts of Scotland. This species is of gregarious habits. One, or at most 
two, are produced at birth, the young being at first white. The average length of 
the adult is four and a half feet. The teeth of this species are smaller and more 
pointed. The colour of the skin of an adult is yellowish-grey, with blackish spots. 
These animals are very sagacious, and can be taught to do almost anything. Seals are 
extremely difficult to approach within camera shot, especially when there is a strong 
wind blowing or where they are frequently disturbed. But on a warm, calm day, im 
places where they are rarely disturbed, I have frequently crawled almost near enough 
to touch one. Stalking seals amongst rocky islands is an interesting and often highly 
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