FOREST - AND - STREAM. 



365 



musical education, makes any marked distinction between a 

 sound of musical character and any other noise which may at- 

 tract its attention. 



The male eared seal is of large size and very robust build, 

 and in general at tains a bulk much exceeding'that of the fe- 

 male. In some genera, as Eurnetopim and Otaria, he is further 

 istinguished by a heavy growth of hair forming a sort of 

 short mane on the neck and shoulders, from which has been 

 given to these species the name of Sea Lion. The character 

 by^which these seals may he most readily distinguished is the 

 presence of a visible external ear ; this is never more than an 

 inch and a half long, is rolled tightly in the form of a cone, 

 and stands out from the head, though directed backward. 



The hair is of two kinds, one longish coat of stiff hairs, gen- 

 erally of some shade from light yellowish brown to a shade 

 almost black, and another coat of soft, short hair, closely laid 

 along the skin around the bases of the longer ones. In some 

 genera this fur is thin and scanty, while in others it is very 

 thick and plentiful, giving rise by its qualities to the distinc- 

 tive names of Hair Seals and Fur Seals. The nose and ex- 

 tremities are usually bare, and the upper lip has a moustache 

 of long, stiff, grayish white hairs. 



The fore and hind limbs are enclosed within the mass of 

 body almost to the wrist and ankle joints. The hands and 

 feet are covered with an extremely tough, leathery skin, which 

 almost defies cutting. On the hands each finger bears a small 

 aborted nail, beyond which the skin is prolonged for several 

 inches , on the foot this prolongation is slit, forming a sort of 

 flapper to each toe; the big and little toe have no nails, or 

 very small ones, while the three middle toes have them well 

 developed almost into claws. All the Otaridce are able to 

 move with much freedom on land— the extremities being suf- 

 ficiently strong to bear the weight of the animal raised on all 

 fours like an ordinary quadruped. Its advance is then made 

 by an alternate raising of the head, throwing forward the fore 

 part of the body, and then by curving the spine upward bring- 

 ing the hinder extremities forward under the body, at the same 

 time spreading them out laterally. By a repetition of this 

 movement they advance at a considerable rate of speed by a 

 gait somewhat ungracefully resembling the canter of a horse. 

 A most astonishing instance of the agility with which these 

 creatures move on land recently came under my notice. A 

 male hair seal about five and a half feet long was brought to 

 the Garden and placed in a pond surrounded with an iron wire 

 fence about three feet high. In another pond a few yards 

 distant were three more males of the same species, with whom 

 he was anxious to fight. 



Some time during the first night after he was put in the 

 pond he was discovered by the watchman fast in a turnstile 

 exit gate, at the lower end of the grounds, about three hun- 

 dred yards from his proper domicile. He was put back, but re- 

 peated his feat so frequently that it was necessary to raise the 

 height of the fence until he was broken of the habit. 



The mode of getting over the fence was precisely such as 

 would be adopted by a man of active habits. The body was 

 raised until the forelimbs could be rested on the top bar, and 

 then by a violent spring from the tail the body was thrown, 

 just as the man would vault, over the fence, landing without 

 harm on the other side. 



The pace of the animal, when hurried, was quite rapid ; in- 

 deed, a keeper who was sent to coax it back with a fish speedily 

 found that the seal could make about as good time as he could 

 and he was obliged to drop the bait and look out for himself. 

 Both this male and the smaller female in the same tank climb 

 up the perpendicular wall when the water is let off — a 

 height of about six feet, broken only by several small project- 

 ing stones— they also drop from a considerable height either 

 on the rocks or into the water without injury, their tough 

 skins and a thick layer of fat immediately beneath serving to 

 protect them. 



The Otaridce are all polygamous ; the harem of a large and 

 powerful bull, usually containing from ten to twenty females. 

 The period of gestation, as nearly as has been ascertained, is 

 about eleven months, varying probably a little in different 

 species. The young are born about June ; generally only 

 one, though occasionally twins being produced. 



From time immemorial disputes have been current among 

 naturalists as to the number of true species into which the 

 seals should be divided. Numbers of species were established 

 . on no better evidence than a single specimen, which in many 

 cases was afterward shown to be but a special state or stage of 

 growth of some other form ; and it was also proved that the 

 skull, which has been one of the leading features in the classifi- 

 cation of the Otaridce, was subject to a vast amount of variation 

 in different individuals of the same species. So the species 

 were gradually reduced to about fifteen in number, and, later 

 still, Prof. J. A Allen, in a valuable paper on the Otaridce, 

 published in the Proceedings of the Essex Institute for 1866, 

 reduced the whole number to less than ten well-marked 

 species, belonging to five genera. These, are found on both 

 sides of the Pacific Ocean, from the Arctic to the Antarctic 

 regions, one species only ranging up the Atlantic coast of 

 South America as far as Brazil. 



The geographical distribution of, these animals, so far as it 

 has been ascertained, is very striking, there being one genus 

 of fur seals toward each pole, and one genus of sea lions in- 

 termingling slightly with these, and extending southward 

 "from the north, and northward from the south, occupying the 

 space intermediate between the fur seals and the fifth genus, 

 containing two species very closely allied to each other, and 



equatorial zone, the genera being thus evenly balanced in the 

 two hemispheres. 



It is believed that the habits of the different members of 

 these groups differ to a very slight degree. It will therefore 

 be amply sufficient to take one of the best known as typical 

 of them all. 



That one which has been most carefully studied is the Fur 

 Seal of the North (C'aUorhinus uwwftsjt known among the 

 early voyagers and naturalists as Steller's Sea Bear. The 

 fully grown male of Alaska and the Prybilov Islands, where 

 are located the most extensive " rookeries "—as the breeding 

 places of the seals are technically termed— grows to a length 

 of six or seven feet, and a weight of five to six hundred 

 pounds, the females in most cases weighing not more than a 

 fourth or fifth as much. In appearance this seal does not 

 differ much from others of his famUy, but that which consti- 

 tutes him par excellence the prince of seals, is the thickness 

 of his soft undercoat of fur, lying beneath the longer hairs, 

 which are all that is visible externally. This it is that fur- 

 nishes the sealskin of commerce, and causes annually so grea; 

 a slaughter of its unfortunate natural owners. It will not he 

 without interest to give some details of the social economy of 

 this seal, as its habits may be taken as illustrative of those of 

 all the eared seals. It is well known that almost all the mem- 

 bers of this species pass eight or nine months of the year far 

 out to sea, spread over the whole North Pacific, coming to the 

 shore only at the time and for purposes connected with breed- 

 ing. They, then, for a time, become land animals. 



The "rookeries" are generally selected along the shores of 

 an island, or in some cases the mainland itself , and are resorted 

 to each year successively. The Prybilov group of islands, 

 about lat. 57 deg N., in the Sea of Kamtschatka, is the fa- 

 vorite spot on the American coast of the.North Pacific. 



The seals make their first appearance in May. when the 

 snow and ice is well melted, the most eager and vigorous of 

 the bulls coming first to see that things are all right, and to select 

 their favorite station, not too far from the water. For among 

 them he who comes first is first served,, and fares the best all 

 through the season, provided he is physically able to protect 

 his choice and hold it against all comers. Through the month 

 of May and into June 'the males continue to arrive, each one 

 as fast as he comes taking up his station on the beach waiting 

 for the arrival of the female part of the cpmmunity. These 

 do not generally come in from the open sea until summer has 

 well set in, from the middle to the last of June. No sooner 

 do they appear than the w T ork of selection begins on the part 

 of the bulls, and* the females are coaxed, bitten, driven and 

 thrashed to the few square yards of rock which have been pre- 

 empted by their lord and master. Some of the larger bulls 

 succeed in getting as many as twenty cows under their charge, 

 and many and bloody are the battles that must be fought to 

 keep covetous outsiders from stealing them away. Mr. Henry 

 M. Elliott, in his report to the Government on the Territory 

 of Alaska, has a very interesting chapter on the seal fisheries. 

 Of the battles waged by the bulls at this season, he writes as 

 follows : 



" Some of these bulls show wonderful strength and courage. 

 I have marked one veteran who was among the first to take 

 up his position, and that one on the water line, when at least 

 fifty or sixty desperate battles were fought victoriously by him 

 with nearly as many different seals who coveted his position, 

 and when the fighting season was over (after the cows have 

 mostly all hauled up), I saw him covered with scars and 

 gashes, raw and bloody, an eye gouged out, but lording it 

 bravely over his harem of fifteen or twenty cows, all huddled 

 together on the same spot he had first chosen." 



Very soon after the landing of the females the young are 

 produced, and this period is shortly followed by the beginning 

 of the season of rutting. This being over early in August, 

 the bulls begin to return to the water, having been absent from 

 it for at least two months, wholly without food, having been 

 engaged unremittingly either in attention* to their seraglios or 

 in furious fights for their protection. They are consequently 

 much weakened and emaciated, and at once go out in search 

 of food, whence they do not return much before the whole 

 colony breaks up for the season. The cows are left in almost 

 undisturbed possession of the beach to nurse their young, and 

 instruct them in the art of swimming, in which it is necessary 

 for them to become proficient before the time of leaving. The 

 young at birth are somewhat over a foot long, and rarely 

 weigh more than seven or eight pounds, but by the,end of 

 September they have grown to a considerable size, and are able 

 to go with the main body on their winter cruise. 



The seals which are legitimately killed at the fisheries con- 

 sist mostly of those bulls comprising a half, or perhaps two- 

 thirds of the whole male population, who have been pre- 

 vented by the larger and stronger ones from visiting the 

 breeding-grounds. These "bachelors," as they are called, are 

 therefore compelled to herd by themselves at a point apart 

 from the rest. They are then surrounded and driven inland 

 without difficulty, a distance in some cases of rive or six miles 

 to the slaughtering-grounds, where they are readily dispatched 

 by a blow on the head. The skins are packed in salt, baled 

 and shipped to the manufactory, where they are put through 

 a variety of processes in the course of preparation. The skins 

 are shaved down to the proper thickness, the long hairs are 

 carded out by hand, the skins are rendered pliable by working 

 with grease, and after careful drying they are ready for the 

 delicate finishing touch of dyeing. In this process a large 

 number of coats have to be applied by hand and with a brush 

 before they are in proper condition. It is not surprising, con- 



©ccupying respectively the north and south waters of the ' sidering the difficulty of preparation and the remoteness of 



the points at which the skins are obtainable, that their market 

 value should be considerable. 



Mr. Elliott estimates that the enormous number of 180,000 

 seals may be annually killed at the Prybilov Islands without 

 danger of depleting the original stock. This will be more 

 readily apparent if I may be allowed to add a few figures 

 from his report, previously referred to. After a careful com- 

 putation of the area of the breeding grounds, and then assum- 

 ing a certain space to be required for each seal, with which 

 the whole space is densely packed, he arrives at the conclu- 

 sion that approximately 4,700,000 seals are present at these 

 "rookeries" during the breeding season. 



This species, being much affected by the slightest degree of 

 heat, is never found far to the South— their favorite home, 

 as before stated, being the sea of Kamtschatka. 



The Southern fur seal (Arctocephalusfalklandkus) closely 

 allied in structure, and not differing appreciably in habits, oc- 

 cupies the corresponding latitudes, in the Southern Hemi- 

 sphere, being found in enormous numbers at tho South Shet- 

 land and Falkland Islands. 



Another well-known earod seal is the sea-lion of the North 

 Pacific (Ewmetopicu stelleri). Many readers will remember 

 seeing in the government building at the Centennial Exposi- 

 tion the stuffed skin of an enormous male of this species 

 which in life must have weighed not far from twenty-five 

 hundred pounds. 



The Northern Sea Lion has all the characteristic marks of 

 the Otaridw, but may be distinguished from all but Otaria by 

 the enormous size of the male and the coarseness of its hair, 

 which grows about the lower neck and shoulders to a length 

 of several inches, giving to these parts the appearance of 

 being developed even beyond the bulk usually attained in all 

 these seals. These animals are found all along the Pacific 

 coast from Middle California northward even as far as the 

 breeding grounds of the fur seal in Alaska, and in lesser num- 

 bers exist on the northeastern shores of Asia. They are veiy 

 numerous about the Bay of San Francisco— the celebrated 

 colony on Seal Rock in that harbor belonging to this spe- 

 cies. 



The bull sea-lion is a savage and dangerous animal when 

 enraged, and encounters have frequently resulted disastrously 

 to an attacking party. 



Capt. J. H. Vincent of San Francisco, who has been large- 

 ly engaged in killing these animals for the od which thc-y 

 yield, gave, recently, to the, writer a description of a sea-ljon 

 hunt which took place during the past summer, in which one 

 of his men was seized by a large bull, and so dreadfully 

 mangled that be verv shortly died. I have in my possession 

 the skull of a large male killed by this party at the Farralone 

 Islands, which measures 14 inches in extreme length, from 

 the base to the extremity of the premaxilla, and 7.4 inches 

 m width between zygomata. The .canine teeth in this skull 

 were enormously developed, one which is before me now 

 measuring 1.6 inches in length from edge of socket to tip, and 

 2.9 inches in circumference at base where it issues from the 

 alveolus. 



By way of contrasting the size of the male and female 

 of these animals, 1 give also the corresponding measurements 

 taken from the skull of a fully adult and unusually large fe- 

 male of the same species— extreme length of skull 11.8 inches; 

 width between zygomata 6.3 ; length of canines 1.1 ; circum- 

 ference of canines 1.6 inches. 



The whole appearanca of the two skulls is very suggestive 

 of the vast difference in physical development between the 

 sexes; in the males the ridges for the attachment of the mus- 

 cles having an enormous development, while in the female 

 they are barely noticeable— this being in perfect accord with 

 the mass of evidence which has been adduced by Mr. Darwin 

 and others in support of the law that the sexual characters 

 are developed to the greatest degree in those species which 

 are most polygamous in habit. This is nowhere better shown 

 than in those seals which come under this head, in which the 

 males of some species, besides other differences, outweigh 

 the female sometimes in the proportion of 5 or 6 to 1, and in 

 one of which species (CallorJrinus ursinus), perhaps the most 

 polygamous of all, an old bull has been seen guarding a 

 household of forty-five cows. The dentition of Eumetopias 

 consists of ten molars, two canines and six incisors in the up- 

 per, and the same, with one less pair of incisors, in the lower 

 jaw. The last or hinder pah- of molars above, being separat- 

 ed by a apace of about three-quarters of an inch from the next 

 pair. The molars are sharply-pointed and are well fitted for 

 tearing the fish which forms the diet of the animal. The 

 outer pair of incisors much resemble the canines, but are 

 somewhat smaller. 



The sea lion of the South Pacific (Otaria jubata) was long 

 considered as identical with the above, but the possession of 

 six molars instead of five in the upper jaw, has been con- 

 sidered fully warrant its generic separation. 

 The sea lions differ little in their ways of life from the fur 



The main points of difference between Gillespie's nair Seal 

 (Zalophiu aillespii) and Eumetopias, its near neighbor on the 

 coast of California, are its smaller size, the absence of the so- 

 called mane, and in some minor osteological characters ; other- 

 wise there is much resemblance between them ; and this species 

 too is' often known by the name of sea Hon. A number of 

 them have been kept both at the Central Park Menagerie and 

 the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, where they have always 

 proved universal favorites; their graceful appearance, the 

 rich brown color of their coats as they shoot dripping from 

 the water on to the rocky edge of th eft pond, and the Jig 



