82 MAMMALIA— ORDER IV.—CARNIVORA. 



pyriform shape, admirably adapted for progression through the water, pass- 

 ing- almost, imperceptibly into the tail, which is always short. On land 

 seals are awkward animals, progressing with a series of ungainly jumps, and 

 most of them spend the greater part of their time in the water, although all 

 come ashore for the purpose of breeding. The great majority are marine, 

 although a few inhabit inland seas and lakes. Most feed on fish, crustaceans, 

 and other marine animals. 



'I he eared-seals, all of which may be included in the single genus Otafia, 

 are distinguished as a family by the circumstance that when on land the hind- 

 flippers are turned forwards beneath the body, and likewise by the presence 

 of small external ears ; the under surfaces of both flippers being naked. 

 They have either 36 or 34 teeth, according to the presence or absence of the 

 second pair of upper molars ; and there are three pairs of upper, and two of 

 lower incisors. The cheek toeth are sharp and compressed, consisting of one 

 large central cusp, flanked by two much smaller ones. ^The head is separated 

 from the body by a distinct neck, and the claws, especially those of the first 

 and fifth toes, are small or rudimental. Many species have a very dense 

 under-fur, constituting the " sealskin " of commerce, and these are known as 

 fur-seals ; while others, in which there is no under-fur, are termed hair-seals. 

 Although absent from the shores of the North Atlantic, the eared-seals have 

 a wide geographical distribution. Among the better-known forms may be 

 mentioned the southern sea-lion (0. jubata) of tlie Falkland Islands and 

 Patagonia, which differs remarkably from all tlie rest in the structure of its 

 skull ; the large northern sea-lion (0. stelleri) of the North Pacific, which 

 may attain as much as 10 feet in length ; Gillespie's sea-lion (0. gillespii) 

 from California and Japan ; the sea-bear (0. ursina) from the Pribyloff 

 Islands and other parts of the North Pacific ; 0. pusilla of South Africa ; and 

 0. fosteri from Australia and New Zealand. All the eared-seals are pecuhar 

 for their habit of spending a long period on land during the breeding-season, 

 where they form the well-known "rookeries." Here the males arrive first, 

 and proceed to tako up fixed stations, where they collect as many females as 

 they are able to capture ; and it is not a little remarkable that during their 

 whole sojourn on shore, which may extend to a period of three months, they 

 undergo a complete fast. 



The following account of seals and sealing in Japanese waters is from the 

 consular report on the trade of Hakodate, as given in the Times of May, 

 1895. The writer states that in the island of Yezo the " conditions, as 

 regards space and time, are very similar on both sides of the ocean. The 

 Russian rookeries of the Commander Islands are the exact counterpart 

 (though smaller) of the American rookeries of the Pribyloff Islands ; the two 

 face each other, in about the same latitude, from the opposite sides of 

 Behring Sea. Prom these centres the seals, after their four or five months' 

 summer sojourn, start southwards for their immense swims in the Pacific, 

 extending on the American side as far down as San Francisco, and on the 

 Asiatic side as far down as Sendai Bay, and even the entrance of Yedo Bay. 

 But there is one noteworthy difference between the two cases. While, on 

 the American side, owing to the long sweep and turns of the coast-line, the 

 range of the swim is quite 3,200 miles, on the Asiatic side it is a nearly straight 

 run of less than half that distance. Hence the seal-herd, though larger, is 

 more _ dispersed on the American side ; and it is probable that hunters 

 choosing the Asiatic side gain more through the concentration of the herd 

 than they lose through its inferiority in numbers. Indeed, the eflfeotiva 



