8o 



Bakkr, The Si^ullnz^'iuf/ of Stones !>y Animals 



rvict. 

 L Vo 



Nat. 

 1. ?:i 



shale, it seems likely that the stones had not heen carried very long by the 

 sea-lion; although some of the metamorphics seem to he very slightly 

 polished." 



For records of stone-swallowing by seals along the southern coast of 

 Australia, Professor Wood-Jones, when writing of seals in the Mammals of 

 South Australia (1925) states that "for some reason or other they swallow 

 pebbles which lodge in their stomachs. In the case of Arctoccphalus cincrcus, 

 the pebbles are of granite and range in size from a tennis ball down to a 

 walnut. Depending upon their size, their number varies from half a dozen 

 to forty or so. The weight of the mass varies ; a typical set of twelve faceted 

 stones weighed five pounds, but in many cases this weight is considerably 

 exceeded." 



Along the Victorian coast, on Lady Julia Percy Island, where the McCoy 



ig. 3 — -Contents from the stomach of one seal, from Phillip Island, Victoria. 

 ( Phuto. by G. A. Thomas, from the collections of the Fisheries and Game Dcpt.. Melb. ) 



Society's expedition was held in 1936. 1. A. Tubb and C. \V. Brazenor 

 examined the stomachs of a number of young and adult seals {.Arctoccphalus 

 tasmaiiicus) . In three pups, there were found near the pyloric end of the 

 stomach small pebbles in quantities of four, seven and eight respectively, and 

 from one quarter to one half inch in diameter. 



Investigations into the feeding habits of seals along the Victorian coast 

 were undertaken by the late Fred Lewis of the Department of Fisheries and 

 Game of Victoria in the season of 1928-29 at Seal Rocks, Western Port 

 Bay. Results of these showed that "of eight seals taken ... a small male 

 had in its stomach, three gurnets, three cuttlefish, and some pebbles ; and 

 a big pup . . . stomach empty except for some small stones or pebbles. The 



