74 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIHILOF ISLANDS. 



although the young males seem to keep somewhat by themselves, aud there appeared 

 to be none of the snapping at one another which is so characteristic of the lur seals. 



The females appear to take an affectionate interest in their offspring, and even 

 when weaned the pups haul out beside their mothers and accompany them from place 

 to idace, and in one instance a pup was seen resting on the shoulders of a female 

 while she swam a short distance. When meeting, old and young frequently rub noses, 

 and occasionally the mother talks to the young by swaying her head up and down 

 and at the same time slightly from side to side. Just what this signities it is difHcult 

 for us to understand, but it evidently means something to the pup. When alarmed 

 the sea lions cluster together, as they also do for purposes of s])ort, for they are fond 

 of playing in the water, diving or lying on one side, splashing with the exposed flipper, 

 much after the manner of a sportive humpback whale. If frightened from a hauling 

 ground, the sea lions are slow in returning, swimming back and forth, surveying the 

 ground and sniffing the air for the i)resence of suspected danger. They also express 

 their disapproval of intrusions by loud growling, and if one is shot the immediate 

 members of the herd become much excited and, although keeping at a safe distance, 

 swim about, and by their conduct and roars clearly express their fear and anger. All 

 in all, though at first sight api)earances are against him, the sea lion is intellectually 

 much above the fur seal. 



The great redeeming feature of the fur seal's character is its playfulness when 

 young, for few animals seem to enjoy life so well as the rollicking pups and young 

 bachelors. But here again it is necessary to curb our imagination, and to remember 

 that while the young seals umloubtedly do derive a certain amount of enjoyment from 

 their sports, very much of what strikes us as meie play is in reality dawning instinct. 

 The si>orting of seal pups foreshadows the time when their very lives will depend on 

 the ability to capture food for themselves, and the playful wrestling contests in which 

 they perpetually engage are mere hints of future fierce battles among bulls. Year- 

 lings do not round up harems of pups with the reasoning care that a child bestows on 

 her dolls, but because centuries of heredity have caused this instinct to be developed 

 long before it serves any practical purpose. And this acting by instinct is the key- 

 note of the seal's character; the mind, like the body, has been molded by natural 

 selection acting on the mass, so that one seal behaves like another and knows Just as 

 much as another, and no more. It is a creature of instincts and not guided to any 

 great extent by reason. As it has done in the past so it will do in the future. Its 

 habits, being formed by the slow process of natural selection, can change but slowly, 

 hence the fur seal is not likely to alter its habits, or to adapt itself to changes in 

 surrounding conditions. It may be exterminated, but it will not leave its breeding 

 grounds, and the laBt seal will come calmly on shore to be knocked iu the head. 



