CHAPTER II. 



THE SEA LION. 



(Plate sxii, fig. 1, 2.) 



Among the numerous species of marine mammalia found upon the Pacific Coast 

 of North America, none excite more interest than the Sea Lion ; even the valuable 

 and almost domesticated Fur Seal of the Pribyloff group of islands fails to equal it 

 in utility to the Aleutians, who depend upon it not only as a staple article of 

 food, but obtain, by the sale of its silky skin, their foreign luxuries of every nat- 

 ure. But the Fur Seal [Calbrhinus) dwells only periodically in isolated places, 

 while the Sea Lion, although having an extended geographical range, is a frequent- 

 er, not only of remote and secluded places, but also of thickly inhabited coasts ; 

 entering inland bays and rivers ; at times disporting among the shipping, and quite 

 frequently making some detached rock or reef, contiguous to the busy shore, a 

 permanent abode, where it seems to enjoy its approximate union with civilization. 

 The Sea Lion is known, among naturalists, as belonging to the sub -family Tricho- 

 phocince, of which there are three genera, and several varieties, said to be distribut- 

 ed as follows: Otaria jubaia, found on the southern coasts and islands of South 

 America ; Uumetopias Stelleri, which inhabits the coasts and islands of the North 

 Pacific, from California and southern Kamschatka northward ; Zalophus Gillespii, found 

 on the coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Lower California and southern 

 Japan northward ; Zalophus hbatus, of the Australasian seas.* To whatever genus of 

 the Trichophocince the animals may belong, their general habits, so far as I have 

 had opportunity to observe, are the same ; the only diff"erence being that those 

 among their number who migrate north or south, conform, in some respects, to the 

 various situations they may be placed in between the equatorial and polar regions. 



*Tlie classification and geographical distri- Eared Seals, lately published; with an account 

 bution here given, are based upon the authority of the northern Fur Seals, by Captain Charles 

 of the valuable work of J. A. Allen, on the Bryant. 



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