ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



893 



In the early days sealers went to the ice in 

 sailing craft, but in 1862 the Bloodhound and 

 the Wolf, the vanguard of the present large fleet 

 of sealing steamers especially fitted for the work, 

 were introduced, and a new era in seal hunting 

 began. It is the object of the sealers to find 

 the floes upon which the herds are located, and 

 this done, old and young alike are slaughtered 

 upon the ice. Late in the season, after the 

 young have taken to the water, a sealing steamer 

 will sometimes follow a large herd at full speed 

 for a hundred miles, or until the herd, becoming 

 exhausted, takes to the ice floe again for rest. 

 When thus thoroughly wearied they will not at 

 once return to the water, and are spoken of as 

 "beat out." After a long drive of this kind they 

 are very poor, and large lumps form under each 

 flipper. 



The harp, the one other species, as previously 

 stated, which whelps upon the ice, though a 

 much smaller seal than the Hood, is more valu- 

 able, and is found in much larger herds than the 

 Hood. The young of this species is snow white 

 until two weeks old, when it sheds its first coat 

 and assumes a dark slate color. 



The seal hunt was at its zenith in 1831, when 

 686,836 seals were captured. In 1911 the total 

 numbered 304,591. Captain Abraham Kean, 

 with the Florizel, captured the largest number 

 of any one ship during that year, his catch 

 reaching a total of 49,129, of which more than 

 half were harps. 



Condition of the Great Apes. — With the ex- 

 ception of occasional colds and bronchial 

 troubles, our family of great apes is in good 

 condition. The animals have passed through 

 the winter without serious illness, except the 

 chimpanzee known as Little 

 Dick. This unusually vigorous 

 animal has several times broken 

 his legs during his rough play, 

 and but recently came from the 

 hospital where he had been re- 

 tired with a dislocated knee. A 

 new exhibition is being prepared, 

 in which the apes will further 

 demonstrate their mental capac- 

 ity. The orang-utans, Mimi and 

 Mike, are now nearly adult. 

 These creatures appear to possess 

 the strength of two men, and 

 while both are good natured, are 

 at times inclined to be stubborn. 

 They are very destructive, and 

 our repair men are kept almost 

 constantly busy on the iron 

 work and trapeze bars of the 

 cage. R. L. D. 



ADULT HOODED SEAL 



HOODED SEAL 

 The flippers are turned under when moving around 



HOODED SEAL AND YOUNG 

 The sealer Neptune in the background 



