400 THE SEA LEOPARD. 



All forms of pinnipeds are voracious to a great extent, spending a large portion of their 

 time in securing food. 



It is a curious circumstance that the Seals, though so intensely solid and heavy, are known 

 to sleep on the surface of the sea. They are singularly tender, and easily deprived of life. A 

 smart blow on the nose completely disables them. The Seal-fishers take advantage of this fact, 

 and are able to secure considerable numbers before the herd can disperse. 



The nasal bones of the Seals are quite delicate in structure. The skull is thinner than 

 any of the carnivora, which may account for the peculiar vulnerability at this point. Even 

 the ancients knew of this : a passage in Oppian says: "l¥on Jiami penetrant phocas.'''' The 

 voice of a Seal is something like the bleating of a young lamb or kid. There were a dozen 

 or more wild Seals (PTioca mtulina) brought to the New York Aquarium in the winter of 

 1877. The keeper, we noticed, handled them very familiarly, yet while doing so, they snarled, 

 and seized the staff which he held with a good deal of savageness, and kept up a sort of 

 growling, which very closely resembled the voice of a cross dog. 



Seals are said to be fond of music, and well authenticated instances are recorded of their 

 showing a manifest liking for it. Sir Walter Scott adds his testimony : 



"Rude Heiskar's Seals, through surges dark, 

 Will long pursue the minstrel's hark." 



The breeding of Seals in the Arctic regions is accomplished under the deep snow that 

 covers frozen seas. The adults contrive to keep open a passage through the ice, and around 

 the hole the snow is cleared off, leaving a shelf large enough to hold the litter of young. Here 

 the little creatures remain until they are able to take to the water, when, strange to say, 

 they are taught to swim. It was formerly thought that Seals were so organized they could 

 remain indefinitely under water. It is now thought that the faculty is purely through a phys- 

 iological adaptation. We see how man can endure the extremes of heat and cold. A case 

 nearer to the point is that of the girl who was employed in the New York Aquarium ; she 

 practiced remaining under water until it was possible to do so for the space of three minutes. 



The importance of the Seal-fishery is very great to several of the nations. 



The term PJiocidce, applied to the family, is from Phoca, a Sea-calf, a term used by the 

 ancients. It embraces all of the so-called Common Seals. The other family includes a num- 

 ber of forms that have external ears, and are named Otariidce, from that circumstance. 



Among other more or less important features that distinguish the Common Seals from the 

 Eared Seals is the arrangement of the hind limbs. In the former the limbs are directed back- 

 ward, and are useless as members on land. In the latter these limbs are movable in all direc- 

 tions, like those of the land animals, and serve them in locomotion on land ; in this function 

 suggesting a higher rank in the scale of life. 



The Sea Leopard, or Leopard Seal, is distinguishable from the other Seals by means 

 of its comparatively slender neck, and the wider gape of its mouth, which opens further back- 

 ward than is generally the case among these animals. The body is rather curiously formed, 

 being slender at the neck and largest towards the middle, from whence it tapers rapidly to the 

 short and inconspicuous tail. 



The fore-paws are without any projecting membrane, and are largest at the thumb-joint, 

 diminishing gradually to the last joint. The claws are sharp and curved, and rather deeply 

 grooved ; their color is black. The hind-feet are devoid of claws and projecting membrane, 

 and bear some resemblance to the tail-fin of a fish. The color of this Seal is generally a pale 

 gray on the upper portions of the body, relieved with a number of pale grayish-white spots, 

 which have earned for the animal the name of Leopard Seal. The external ears are wanting. 



It may be observed in this place, that the situation of these organs is rather remarkable. 

 The external orifice is not placed exactly over the passage that leads to the internal ear, but is 

 situated below and a little behind the eyes, so that there is a tubular passage below the skin 

 that seems to conduct the waves of sound towards the hidden organs of hearing. Partly on 



