AQUATIC MAMMALS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



PINNIPEDIA. 



THE FUR SEAL. 



The following account of the Fur Seal and of the industry of which 

 it is the basis has been condensed from the observations of Henry W. 

 Elliott.* The northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ur sinus (Linne), Gray, is 

 confined almost exclusively in the breeding season to the Pribylovs, a 

 group of small islands in Bering Sea, about 200 miles north of Una- 

 lashka and an equal distance from the mainland, and to the Commander 

 Islands, Bering and Copper, 185 miles east of and off the Kamchatkan 

 coast, under Bussian order and control. They settle principally upon 

 the two larger islands, Saint Paul and Saint George, being especially 

 numerous on the former, where they have extensive breeding and sport- 

 ing or "hauling" grounds. The aggregate area of these islands does 

 not exceed 60 square miles. They are of volcanic origin, and have a 

 surface diversified by sand beaches, high bluffs, and lava hills. The 

 vegetation is scant, although the climate is quite mild. About 400 

 Aleutes and half-breeds live on the islands, and the able-bodied men 

 attend to the fishery in the season. The Fur Seal also occurs (or until 

 recently did occur) in small numbers at different points along the Cali- 

 fornian coast. 



The Fur Seal grounds of the Pribylovs, as already stated, are divided 

 into breeding-grounds and hauling-grounds. The former, which are 

 also termed "rookeries," are located at different points about the coast 

 of the two islands, one of the largest being at the northeastern extrem- 

 ity of Saint Paul's. The adult males first arrive on these grounds in 

 small numbers early in May, and are followed by the general throng at 

 the beginning of June, when the foggy weather of summer sets in. 

 There is much fighting among the males for favorable situations, in- 

 creasing in violence with the arrival of the females, which occurs between 

 the 12th and 14th of June. Families of from two or three to forty or 

 more are then made up in the midst of much fighting and confusion, 

 each male striving to add to the number of his wives and to his neighbor's 

 discomfort. Very shortly after their arrival the females are delivered 

 of young. The breeding season continues until the opening of August, 



* Elliott : A Monograph of the Seal Islands of Alaska. Washiugton, Feb. 21, 1881. 

 2444— Bull. 27 40 625 



