THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS. 73 
the fact that, though the females do not leave the islands much before the middle of 
November, they are taken off the coast of Southern California in December. Their 
trip down through the ocean must be rapid and more or less direct. 
HABITS OF THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS. 
It may be worth our while to contrast with the foregoing account of the fur 
seal of the north some account of the life history of the fur seal of the Southern 
Hemisphere, the species of Aretocephalus, from the recorded observations of such 
early explorers and sealers as Delano, Fanning, Wedell, and Morrell. Dr. J. A. Allen 
has brought together in a paper, which appears in the Proceedings of the Paris 
Tribunal the important notes bearing upon this subject.! Without quoting in detail 
we may here give a brief summary of ‘these observations. 
THEIR MOVEMENTS. 
The adult males land first in November, taking up their places on the rookeries 
“and awaiting the arrival of the females, which come in Decémber to bring forth their 
- young. They come and go, caring for their young, until about the 1st of February, 
when the pups are left to shift for themselves. 
In February the younger males or bachelors come on shore to shed their hair 
which is accomplished by about the 1st of May. ‘This period corresponds to our 
stagy season. The bachelors then take to the water and do not return on shore much 
before the 1st of July. For a month or six weeks they come and go regularly, 
abandoning the shore at the end of this time until some time in August. For the rest 
of the season mixed herds, young males and females, occupy the shores, coming and 
going at intervals, until the old males begin to arrive in November. The young 
then retire. , 
This seems to be the round of life for the various classes as recorded. There 
is no lucid account of what becomes of the adult males and females after the offices 
of reproduction are accomplished. The bulls are reported as fasting from the time of 
their arrival until the breeding season is over, when they leave thin and lean, to return 
the following season plump and fat. 
THEY DO NOT MIGRATE. 
It is asserted that the seals do not migrate, though the record of observations 
seem to indicate that certain classes of the animals are absent from their breeding 
places for longer or shorter periods. While some of the animals are about the shores 
at all seasons, the evidence seems to show that they are of different classes and have 
different periods of movement. 
BREEDING HABITS. 
The offices of reproduction are accomplished on land. The female bears, as a 
rule, a single pup, though suggestions of the possibility of twins and even triplets 
are offered. The young are helpless at: birth and learn to swim about a month 
afterwards. It is freely suggested that the mothers teach them. The pup at birth is 
covered with black hair. It gets its fur and changes its black hair for a coat of gray 
in a month or six weeks. 
1 Appendix U. S. Case, Fur Seal Arb., Vol. I, p. 375. 
