Hair Seals or Sea Dogs. 211 



With the exception of the Elephant Seal, none of the 

 species of this family resort to any particular breeding 

 ground, but produce their young on the ice ^oes and 

 beaches. There are sixteen or seventeen varieties of True 

 Seals, but only such as are of special interest, structurally 

 or commercially, are considered in this work. 



The Elephant Seal, whose habitat is in the seas of the 

 antipodes, is the largest of all pinnipeds, measuring from 

 fifteen to twenty feet in length. Like the next largest 

 representative of the Phocidae — the Sea Leopard of the 

 Antarctic Ocean — this species is well nigh extinct, and 

 the few skins now taken are used for leather purposes 

 only. Unlike most True Seals the Elephant Seal is polyg- 

 amous. 



The Grey Seal, or square flipper, by some authorities 

 also claimed to be polygamous, is one of the largest True 

 Seals of the Northern Hemisphere, sometimes attaining 

 a length of twelve feet, although the average "Grey 

 Back," which will' weigh about 400 pounds, is eight feet 

 long. The cubs or White-coats of this species are larger 

 than the adult Ringed Seals, measuring from four to five 

 feet, which is nearly the size of the full-grown Greenland 

 and Common Seals. The Grey Seal is found in compara- 

 tively narrow limits in the North Atlantic, being com- 

 moner on the shores of Europe than on the American 

 side, where it ranges from Sable Island to the Straits of 

 Labrador and Disco Island, and is sometimes seen in the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson's Bay. It also occurs 

 in Iceland, and is one of the two species occasionally met 

 with off the British Islands; but its chief habitat is the 

 northern coast of Norway, where it usually breeds at the 

 end of September, producing its young on the ice. The 

 Grey Seal is the sole representative of its genus, and can 

 be distinguished from all other species of True Seals by 

 the form of its skull, and the simple character of its teeth. 

 It is less docile and intelligent than the Common Seal, 

 and cannot be tamed in the same manner. 



Grey Seals have chosen localities where they come 

 ashore, generally selecting places on the leeside of an 

 island. Before landing they will swim back and forth 

 several times, with head erect and eye, ear and nose on the 



