THE FUR SEAL 



47 



fight fiercely, and with their big canine teeth 

 inflict upon each other many severe skin wounds. 

 I have seen specimens whose necks bore scores of 

 large scars. In the presence of man, however, 

 they are timid, and easily frightened. 



This giant among Sea-Lions is found on the 

 coast of California, in small numbers only, at 

 Point Ano Neuvo, near Santa Cruz, at Puris- 

 sima, the Farallone Islands, Point Reyes, and 

 Point Arena. On the coast of Oregon it is found 

 about the mouth of the Columbia and Tillamook 

 Head. The agents of the United States Fish 

 Commission, reporting observations made in 

 1901, stated that " probably half of the Sea-Lions 

 of California (of both species) are found at the 

 Farallone Islands, and it seems doubtful whether 

 the total number on the coast amounts to five 

 thousand." A large colony of Steller's Sea- 

 Lions inhabits Bogoslof Island, Alaska, living 

 almost in the shadow of that celebrated volcano. 



In October, 1903, the New York Zoological 

 Society's agents succeeded, after many fruitless 

 efforts, in capturing six young specimens in the 

 sea off San Miguel Island, California, and safely 

 transporting them to New York, where the ex- 

 periment of keeping this species in captivity is 

 now being tried in the Zoological Park. 



The Fur Seal, 1 which yields the beautiful 

 and costly fur so highly prized for ladies' gar- 

 ments, is not a true seal, but a sea-bear or sea- 

 lion, quite similar in form, size and general hab- 

 its to the California species already described. 

 It is found on the Pribilof or Seal Islands, in 

 Bering Sea, where during the Russian occupa- 

 tion it was twice nearly exterminated for its fur; 

 on Copper and Robben Islands, off the coast 

 of Siberia; and in the open sea from the Pribilof 

 Islands southeastward to the thirty-fifth parallel, 

 thence northward along the coast, back to the 

 Seal Islands. 



The size of the Fur Seal has been carefully ob- 

 served by Mr. Henry W. Elliott, and recorded 

 as follows: 



Males 



and 



Females 



At birth (June 20) Length 12 to 14 



At six months, " 24 



At one year, " 38 



At two years, " 45 



Males ) At three years, " 52 



only. "^ At six years, " 72 



At 8 to 20 years, " 75 to 80 



The Fur Seal has two kinds of hair. Its outer 

 coat is long, stiff, coarse, and gray in color. In 

 preparing skins for market, all this is plucked 

 out and thrown away, leaving only the fine, soft, 

 brown under fur, which before manufacture is 

 dyed a rich, blackish-brown color. Fur Seal gar- 

 ments vary in price from $200 to $700. 



The Fur Seal has strange and interesting 

 habits. It spends about two-thirds of each year 

 far at sea, making a circuit of 6,000 miles in the 

 open ocean without touching land. For some 

 strange reason, the herd in American waters 

 has chosen the two Pribilof Islands, St. Paul 

 and St. George, as the only spots in our waters 

 whereon they are willing to land and rear their 

 young. To these favorite breeding-places, on 

 these islands known as " hauling-grounds," the 

 Fur Seal millions were wont to repair in the early 

 summer of each year, to rear their young. The 

 returning herd begins to arrive between May 1 

 and 15, the breeding season is over by September 

 15, and by the end of November all the Seals 

 are gone on their great winter cruise southward 

 into warmer waters. By a long series of inqui- 

 ries the winter cruise of the herd has been mapped 

 out by Dr. D. S. Jordan and his associates, and 

 is shown on the next page. 



On the breeding grounds, each large and hard- 

 fighting old male gathers round him a harem of 

 from six to ten females, fights off all rivals, young 

 or old, and elects himself the head of an imposing 

 family. The three-year-old male Seals — called 

 "bachelors" — were killed for their fur, to the 

 number of about 100,000 each year. The fe- 

 males bear only one "pup" annually, immedi- 

 ately after landing in May. 



The mother Seals leave their young, go to sea 

 in search of food, remain several days perhaps, 

 or even a fortnight, then return and go straight 

 to their own respective offspring. It was the 

 killing of the mothers at sea that produced an 

 enormous falling-off in the number available 

 each year. The persistent slaughter of mothers 



1 Cal-lo-ta'ri-a ur-si'na. 



