276 



THE FIN-FOOTED ANIMALS. 



The Ordinary Though the Seals live in the ocean 

 Seal on the for days and weeks and can dispatch 

 Land. ^11 their business in the water, they 



are fond of repairing to the land for the purposes of 

 resting, sleeping and basking in the sun's rays. 

 They jerk themselves out of the water to a consid- 

 erable distance on the shore, by violently flapping 

 their expanded hind feet together. When fright- 

 ened or in danger all Seals constantly spit water, 

 perhaps in order to make their pathway smoother. 

 Clumsy as their gait may appear, it is a very rapid 

 pace: a running Man must expend some effort in 

 order to overtake a Seal gliding along on land. The 

 hind part of a Seal's body is as mobile as its neck. 

 The Seal can twist itself so as to lie on its back in 

 front and on its under surface behind, or the reverse, 

 and can turn its head in any direction. 



In the higher latitudes these animals, even when 

 not compelled to do so, preferably select drift-ice as 

 their resting places, and stay there, quietly stretched 

 out, for periods as long as those in the south lie on 

 the beach warmed by the sun. The possibility of 

 lying for hours on so cold a surface without giving 

 up too much heat or catching cold is afforded them 

 by the layer of fat which spreads between the skin 

 and muscles, and is a very poor conductor of heat. 



The voice of the Seals is either a hoarse bark or a 

 whine; when angry they growl like Dogs. 



Development Even the ancients described the 



of the Senses Seals as highly gifted animals. 

 of Seals. Their senses seem to be efficient 

 and of rather uniform development. Nose and 

 ears may be closed and in a living Seal alternately 

 have the appearance of triangular, roundish holes or 

 only of narrow slits. The nostrils are opened at 

 every breath and immediately closed again and stay 

 so, even when the animal is on land, while the ears 

 are shut only in the water and not always even there. 

 In the large and vei-y slightly protruding eyes the 

 light or dark brown iris fills the entire space left 

 open by the lids ; the white of the eye is seldom 

 seen. The pupil is neither circular nor elliptical but 

 four-cornered. The expression of a Seal's eye is 

 worthy of notice, as is also the fact, that when 

 moved by emotions of any kind, all Seals shed tears. 

 If we regard sight as the most highly developed 

 sense, as we probably have the right to do, we may 

 consider hearing as the next best. The ancients had 

 discovered the fact that Seals are fond of music and 

 singing, and modern observers have noticed that 

 they attentively listen to bells and other loud 

 sounds. Brown affirms that he has frequently seen 

 Seals lift their heads out of the water and listen to 

 the songs of sailors who were hauling in an anchor 

 with a windlass. The church at Hoy on the Ork- 

 neys is situated near a narrow, sandy bay, much fre- 

 quented by Seals, and they find particular attraction, 

 as it seems, not only in its situation but also in the 

 church-bells; for the animals have often been seen 

 swimming straight to the coast when the bells were 

 ringing, their eyes fixed in the direction from which 

 the sounds proceeded, while they listened, with rapt 

 and delighted attention, as long as the bells contin- 

 ued ringing. 



Mental It is difficult to pass judgment on 



Characteristics the mental qualities of Seals. There 

 of Seals. is no doubt as to their sagacity; but 

 frequently they display such stupidity and clumsi- 

 ness as to puzzle the observer. Bold in deserted 

 localities, they behave with extreme caution where 

 they know that they are threatened by deadly 



enemies. It is established that the warnings of 

 older animals are heeded and acted upon by the 

 younger ones. Captive Seals soon make friends 

 with their keepers and soon become very tame, 

 respond to the names that are given them, will leave 

 the tank and take fish out of the keeper's hand and 

 show their interest and affection in other respects. 

 There are certainly some which suffer themselves to 

 be touched and stroked by the keeper, shake hands 

 with him, and even allow a friend to put his hand in 

 their mouths. 



It seems that Seals are rather indifferent toward 

 all animals which are not classed as fish, moUusk or 

 Crab; but if one were to regard this as a proof of 

 their good-nature, one might be mistaken. They 

 are always violent when brought in contact with 

 Dogs ; they snort angrily and try to drive the canine 

 intruders away by gnashing their teeth together. 



Development Like all members of their family 



of the Young they give evidence of special tender- 

 Seals. ness toward their young. They play 



with them in many ways, and defend them in peril 

 even against stronger animals. 



Varying with the locality in which the Seals live, 

 their young are born during the months of May, 

 June or July, birth being given to one, or more rarely 

 two young Seals, on some lonely, uninhabited island, 

 preferably on sandy spots on the beach, in caverns, 

 on rocks or on an ice-field. The young Seals make 

 their appearance perfectly developed, but are clothed 

 in a dense, white, pliable fur, which hinders them 

 from swimming and still more from diving, but is 

 soon exchanged for the sleek, stiff fur of youth. 

 Until that time the female stays on land with the 

 little ones. 



In the Zoological Garden of Hamburg a perfectly 

 developed little Seal was born on the 30th of June, 

 at an early hour, for the keeper, to whose care I 

 had committed the Seal, saw the little one playing 

 in the water near its mother when he arrived in the 

 morning. On the land I found the whole fur of the 

 newborn, consisting of a not inconsiderable heap of 

 short, wavy hair of silky softness, all of which was 

 lying on a spot of small circumference. The little 

 one wore no trace of the woolly fur; its coloring 

 closely resembled that of its mother, except that the 

 different colors were fresher and brighter. The eyes 

 had a clear and lively appearance. Even the very 

 movements of the young animal were entirely those 

 of its parent: as agile in the water, as clumsy on 

 land. It seemed, that during the first hours of its 

 life it had already acquired all the accomplishments 

 of its race, for it swam on its stomach and on its 

 back, dived easily and long, and, in a word, it acted 

 like an old Seal. But then it had been born as a 

 remarkably developed and strikingly large speci- 

 men. On the very day of its birth we succeeded 

 in weighing and measuring the already intractable 

 little fellow. He weighed seventeen and one-half 

 pounds and was thirty-four inches long. 



The spectacle the two animals presented was a 

 highly fascinating one to the observer. The mother 

 seemed to, rejoice in her offspring, and displayed the 

 greatest tenderness in every respect, while the preco- 

 cious little one seemed to understand her. From 

 the very first days she played with it in a clumsy 

 way, at first in the water, then also on land. 



Importance To the northern nations the Seals 

 of the Seals are the most important of all ani- 

 to Man. mals. The Greenlanders' life is ren- 

 dered possible by the Seals, and they extract profit 



