THE HOODED SEAL: DISTEIBUTION. 69 



other pelagic species, stragglers are sometimes met with far to the southward of the usual range 

 of the species. Ou the North American coast it appears to be of uncoraraoa occurrence south of the 

 point already mentioned, as it is said by Gilpin* to be " a rare visitor to the shores of ISTova Scotia." 

 Like the Harp Seal, it appears also to be regularly migratory, but owing to its much smaller numbers 

 and less commercial importance, its movments are not so well known. Carroll states that it visits 

 the coast of Newfoundland at the same time as the Harp Seal, or about the 25th of February, the 

 time, however, varying with the state of the weather. He further states that Hooded Seals always 

 keep to the eastward of the Harp Seals, amongst the heavy ice; also that they are quite numerous 

 in spring in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where "many of them are killed by persons who reside 

 on Saint Paul's Island."^ Dr. Packard states that it " is not uncommonly, during the spring, kdled 

 in considerable numbers by the sealers" along the coast of Labrador.' Rink says, " It is only occa- 

 sionally found along the greater part of the coast [of Greenland], but visits the very limited tract 

 between 00° and 61° N. lat., in great numbers, most probably in coming from and returning to the 

 east side of Greenland. The Urst time it visits us is from about May 20 till the end of June, dur- 

 ing which it yields a very lucrative catch."'' Robert Brown observes, " With regard to the favorite 

 localities of this species ot Seal, Cranz and the much more accurate Pabricius disagree — the former 

 affirming that they are found mostly on great ice islands where they sleep in an unguarded manner, 

 while the latter states that they delight in the high seas, visiting the land in April, May, and June. 

 This appears contradictory and confusing; but in reality both authors are right, though not in an 

 exclusive sense." Again he says : '■ This Seal is not common anywhere. On the shores of Green- 

 land it is chiefly found beside large fields of ice, and comes to the coast, as was remarked by Fabri- 

 cius long ago, at certain times of the year. They are chiefly found in South Greenland, though it is 

 erroneous to say that they are exclusively confined to that section. I have seen them not uncom- 

 monly about Disco Bay, and have killed them in Melville Bay, in the most northerly portion of 

 Baffin's Bay. They are principally killed in the district of Julianshaab, and then almost solely in 

 the most southern part, on the outermost islands, irom about the 20th of May to the last of June ; 

 but in this short time they supply a great portion ot the food of the natives and form a tliird of 

 the colony's yearly production. In the beginning of July the Klapmyds leaves, but returns in 

 August, when it is much emaciated. Then begins what the Danes in Greenland call the maU/re 

 Klapmydse fangst, or the ' lean-Klapmyds-catching,' which lasts from three to four weeks. Very 

 seldom is a Klapmyds to be- got at other places, and especially at other times. The natives call a 

 Klapmyds found single up a fjord by the name of Nerimartont, the meaning of which is ' gone 

 after food.' They regularly frequent some small islands not far from Julianshaab, where a i>ood 

 number are caught. After this they go farther north, but are lost sight of, and it is not known 

 where they go to (Rink, I. c). Those seen in North Greenland are mere strag;.>lers, wandering from 

 the herd, and are not a continuation of the migrating flocks. Johannes (a very knowing man of 

 Jakobshavn) informed me that generally about the 12th of July a few are killed in Jakobshavn 

 Bay (lat. 69° 13' N.). It is more pelagic in its habits than the other Seals, with the exception of 

 the Saddleback." 5 



I conclude the account of the geographical distribution of the Hooded Seal in Baffin's Bay 

 with the following from Mr. Kumlien's account : 



' Proceedings and Transations Nova Scotian Institute of Natural SGienccs, vol. iii, pt. 4, p. 884. 



''Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland, pp. 13, 14. 



"Proc. Boat Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 271. 



^Danish Greenland, etc., 1877, p. 126. 



'Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, pp. 436, 437; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Greenland, Mam., pp. 65, 66. 



