January 7, 1910] 



SCIENCE' 



35 



Dr. Fox, the surgeon of the Bear, to ascertain 

 whether the fur-seal carried ectoparasites. 

 For this purpose, a starving fur-seal pup, 

 whose mother had been killed while feeding 

 at sea, was given to the Bear's surgeon, who 

 was unable to discover any of the parasites 

 mentioned. The half -starved little animal was 

 then taken by Mr. Judson Thurber, the Bear's 

 boatswain, who desired to attempt feeding the 

 pup by artificial means. He was so far success- 

 ful in his efforts that he induced this pup to eat 

 dried fish from his hand and kept it in good 

 condition for three weeks, when it died in con- 

 vulsions. Desiring to carry the experiment 

 farther, Mr. Thurber obtained two well-con- 

 ditioned fur-seal pups, a male and a female, 

 from the Pribilof Islands on October 9, which 

 he induced to eat regularly and even greedily, 

 and which now are fat and in prime condition. 



The chronology of the experiment follows : 



October 9. — Two pups delivered to Revenue 

 Cutter Manning. 



October H. — Pups delivered by Manning to 

 Bear — did not eat between these dates. 



October 19. — Female began eating solid fish. 



October S3. — Male chloroformed and frenum 

 severed. 



October 28. — Male induced to swallow a 

 little dried salmon. 



November 2. — Male began to eat at will, 

 and on that date ate with evident relish nine 

 small fresh herring at Seattle. 



Mr. Thurber began his experiments by 

 forcing condensed milk dovro the throat of 

 the starving pup first obtained. In doing so 

 he discovered that the animal experienced 

 difficulty in swallowing and attributed this to 

 the fact that the movement of the tongue was 

 restricted by the frenum. This Mr. Thurber 

 at once severed forcibly with his finger, upon 

 which the pup soon after began to eat fish. 

 After the death of this pup and his securing 

 the two others, the same impediment to the 

 free movement of the tongue was noted. 

 The female, it is stated, succeeded in breaking 

 the frenum by her own efforts and a few days 

 afterwards began to eat. The male being un- 

 able to do this, on October 23 he was chloro- 

 formed and his frenum cut. Immediately 

 after this, the male began to protrude its 



tongue and to nose the fish in its enclosure, but 

 did not eat, possibly because no suitable food 

 was obtainable at sea. Upon the arrival of the 

 vessel at Seattle small herring were fed to the 

 pups and both animals ate greedily. 



The female was by far the easier to feed, 

 was without food for only ten days and has 

 been in good condition during the whole of 

 her captivity. The male, however, was vir- 

 tually without food from October 9 until No- 

 vember 2, a period of twenty-four days, dur- 

 ing which time he grew thin rapidly and was 

 a pitiful sight beside his fat and sleek-looking 

 companion. Since he began feeding, how- 

 ever, he fattened daily and now is as well-con- 

 ditioned as the female. 



The pups have been kept on board the Bear 

 in a box six feet long by three feet wide. At 

 first this box was filled with sea-water two or 

 three times a day. Now the box is kept filled 

 with water during the day and is emptied at 

 night. They manifest no desire to leave the 

 water during the day and frequently sleep on 

 the surface. In the morning, when the box is 

 filled with water, they show every indication 

 of delight. They are very tame and, when not 

 in the water, will allow any one to fondle them 

 unless a quick motion is made, when they 

 will snap, but even then will bite gently if the 

 hand is allowed to remain quiet. 



In conducting this experiment Mr. Thurber 

 used great patience and no little skill. He be- 

 gan feeding the animals by holding their 

 mouths open and pouring into their mouths 

 evaporated cream mixed with bits of fish. 

 The pups resented this, but small quantities 

 went into their stomachs. Later, Mr. Thurber 

 would tie bits of fish on the end of a string 

 and tease the animals until they would snap at 

 the fish. Then he would manage to poke the 

 fish down the seal's throat and cut off the 

 string. In this way the female was taught 

 the taste for fish, after which she soon learned 

 to eat voluntarily. 



These animals, the only captives of their 

 kind in the world, are now thriving on board 

 the Bear and it is hoped soon to bring them 

 to Washington, where they will be placed in 

 the large pool at the Bureau of Fisheries. Mr. 

 Thurber is entitled to all credit for his sue- 



