326 



MAMMAL,'^ 



Once a year all tho seals, young and old, repair to the 

 Pribilof Islands in the Beln-ing Sea. 'i'he males arrive first 

 in April and May, and in June the females hegin to eome. 

 Certain suitafjle rocI<y shores of these ishuids that are 

 literally eo\'ered with the seals are known as the " rook- 

 cries." In 1870 there were estimated to Ix' several million 

 seals on the Pribilof Islands, hut the number is rapidly 

 diminishing. The l.ia.chelor si'als, or " hollusehickie," 

 ai'c the only ones now allowed to Jje slain, and it is these 

 that furnish the skins for the market. 



By Octol)er and November, the great majority of the 

 seals have left the islands, not to return until the following 

 spring. The time bet\\'een the visits is spent in the open 

 ocean, the seals seldom, if ever, touching land in all this 

 time. 



Walruses. — These are aquatic mammals of strange ap- 

 pearance and peculiar habits (k'ig. 21d). A male walrus is 



Imi: l.'1-l. — Walrus, 



a huge l)ca,st, ten to twelve Icet long aiid weighing from 

 eighteen hundred to two thousand pounds. The canine 

 teeth are de\'eloped into lingc tusks sometimes two feet 



