4 o8 WHALES, SEALS, AND SEA-SERPENTS 



Islands, St. Paul, and Amsterdam Islands, etc. (O. 

 forsteri) ; on Robben Island and some other South 

 African islands and coasts (O. antarctica) ; on various 

 parts of the South American coast, where their haunts 

 often give rise to the name Lobitos Islands — i.e., the 

 islands of the sea-wolves — from Uruguay round Cape 

 Horn to Chili and the Galapagos (O. australis) ; and, 

 chief of all, in Behring Sea and the Pribylovs, the 

 Commander Islands, and the Kuriles (O. ursina). The 

 several breeding-grounds in the Kuriles have been 

 exterminated for about twenty years, and it is said 

 that in the times of relaxed supervision during the 

 Japanese War the Russian breeding-grounds of the 

 Commander Islands were all but depleted. A Fur Seal 

 " rookery " is one of the great sights of natural history. 

 The bulls come ashore in spring ; each gathers together 

 a harem of as many females as he can attract to him- 

 self, and can defend by ceaseless combat from his 

 neighbours. The bulls remain at their posts all through 

 the season, never entering the water to feed, and by 

 late summer are gaunt and lean. At the height of the 

 season the long beach is a densely crowded mass of 

 bulls, females, and pups, in noise and stench and 

 ceaseless movement. 



The genus Zalophus is allied, but differs in the want 

 of the fine fur of the Otarias. To this belongs the 

 black " sea lion " of the Calif ornian coast. This 

 animal is very graceful and docile, and is often trained 

 for menagerie purposes. Another species of the same 

 genus occurs on the northern coasts of Australia, and 

 northwards to Japan. One other genus is Eumetopias, 

 to which a single species, Steller's Sea Lion, belongs. 

 In contrast to the Fur Seals, which congregate in 

 great " rookeries " in a few well-known spots, these 

 sea lions disperse in small colonies, and may be seen 



