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MR. T. P, A. RING ON THE 



of any extent a luige bull Elepliaiit-tSeal, the beaclimaster of the 

 old-time sealers, was found to be in possession of a herd com- 

 prised of females and youngsters — dams and pups — whilst on 

 smaller beaches, and lolling about on the grass-covered plains 

 above the beaches, were flocks of male Elephant-Seals of various 

 ages and dimensions, termed " pods " by the sealers. 



The dams were all brown in colour, measuring from seven to 

 about .eleven feet in length, and rather emaciated after suckling 

 their pups, who were in splendid condition, almost bursting with 

 fat, and covered with a pretty silver-grey coat of short hairs. 

 The beachmasters were most imposing looking, compared with 

 their offspring, among which the young bulls measured as much 

 as seven feet in length, whilst the females were no more than five 

 feet long. The guardians, or " sultans," of the harems were, in 

 most cases, dark brown, like the dams ; though some were dark 

 grey in colour. On some beaches a solitary, dun-coloured bull 

 was seen, who, like the beachmasters, was scarred from many a 

 fight ; and among the " pods " of variously sized grey bulls, 

 fighting was the order of the day, combats being waged at all 

 hours if the sun was not out, and for the mere pleasure of 

 battling ; the hoarse beilowings of struggling bulls being audible 

 at night as well. 



In the course of a week sevei-al anchorages on Kerguelen Land 

 were visited by the S.S. 'Jeanne d'Arc,' and about the 6th of 

 November the beachmasters were observed to be very much on 

 the alert to prevent the dams from abandoning the pups : placing 

 themselves between their harems and the water. Whenever a 

 dam tried to pass, the bull simply crushed her down, and he 

 would even administer a bite ; but whilst he was thus engaged 

 another dam would watch her chance, and slip past him into the 

 water. With angry beilowings the beach master would try to 

 intercept the runaway ; but no sooner did the dam kept down by 

 the bull feel the pressure diminish, than she, in her turn, slipped 

 away, and there the baffled Sultan stood, bellowing forth his rage 

 at the escape of his odalisques. 



The beachmasters were found to measure from about 18 to 21 

 feet in length : and had always a well-developed proboscis, which 

 is an enlargement of the snout more nearly resembling that of 

 the tapir than the trunk of an elephant ; whence, however, is 

 derived the name " Sea-Elephant." As long as a bull is undis- 

 turbed this " proboscis " hangs flabby and limp to one side of the 

 jaw ; but when excited, or roused to anger, it becomes rapidly 

 inflated with air and enormously enlarged, the process of inflation 

 being accompanied by short snorts. The bulls, when fighting 

 each other, are very careful to prevent the trunk from being 

 seized, contracting and raising them, as far a,s possible, out of 

 harm's way. The dams are entirely devoid of this enlargement 

 of the nose, which is a sign of sexual maturity in the males, and 

 is most pronounced during the rutting period ; while it is per- 

 ceptible in the pups when only seven to eight weeks old. 



