66 TRANSACI^lONS. 1897-8. 



as you are all aware, is a polygamous animal, harems of from 

 two to fifty and sometimes 100 cows being formed around in- 

 dividual males. The young are born very soon after the ar- 

 rival of the cows and soon form themselves into little groups, 

 or " pods " as they are called on the islands. They spend 

 their time in sleep and play, and grow rapidly. They can 

 swim when first born but do not go into the sea of their own 

 accord until a month or six weeks old, when on calm days 

 the greater part of their time is spent swimming and playing 

 in the water in front of the rookeries. A little later they go 

 long distances from the rookeries on which they were born 

 and haul-out in great numbers on the shores of quiet bays. 



The earliest date on which I have seen pups swimming 

 was July 18th, 1892. The day was bright and warm and the 

 tide at the time I first noticed them was just beginning to 

 flow. A great many pups were playing in the pools among 

 the rocks near the edge of the sea ; in one place there were 

 40 or 50 together and in many others more than half that 

 number, while all along the shore the young seals were in 

 little groups of from 3 to 10. No old seals were near them 

 but those swimming about in the water and those going to 

 and coming from it. As the tide came in some of the pups 

 slowly retreated, but many of them remained among the rocks 

 until the water was some distance beyond them. They played 

 about and swam from one rock to another and back many 

 times with no appreciable interval of rest. I neither at this 

 time nor on any other occasion, saw an old seal attempt to 

 teach a pup to swim nor carry it to the water, nor have I ever 

 seen anything that would lead one to suppose that pups 

 learned to swim. On the contrary a pup cut from its mother 

 can swim a long time. 



The length of time a pup is dependent upon its mother 

 has never been satisfactorily ascertained. It is known that 

 they begin to secure food from the sea long before they leave 

 the islands in the autumn, but they have also been killed 

 very late in the season with their stomachs full of milk. So 

 long as the mother seal remains on or near the islands and 

 her pup can find her he doubtless receives nourishment from 

 her, but if left to his own resources he will generally be able 

 to secure food for himself. I do not hesitate to say that a 

 strong pup six weeks old that goes freely into the water can 

 secure food for himself, up to that time he is probably depend- 

 ent upon his mother, though promiscuous nursing is not un- 

 known. 



