226 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



L'Walrusks 



Steller speaks of a garment which he made for him- 

 self from one, when hewasinBehring*s Island, with 

 grateful remembrance. 



1008. — Forster's Sea-Lion 

 {Platyrhynchus Fosteri). Otaria Fosteri, Less., in 

 'Diet. Class.;' Phoca Forst.eri, Fischer. The genus 

 Platyrhynchus differs little from Arctocephalus, ex- 

 cept in a few minor points in the dentition ; in the 

 greater elevation of the cerebral region of the skill), 

 and in the enlargement of the muzzle. There are 

 external ears. Fig. 1009 represents the skull. 



Several species of seal have been termed sea- 

 bears or ursine seals ; and several sea-lions, among 

 which may be mentioned the huge elephant-seal 

 already described. Dr. Hamilton considers, however, 

 that three distinct members of the present genus 

 have been thus designated :-— 1. the sea-lion of 

 Steller (Phoca jubata, Gmelin), inhabiting the 

 eastern shores of Kamtchatka and the Kurile 

 Islands; 2, the sea-lion of Forster (Leo marinus, 

 Buff.), a native of the southern hemisphere ; and 

 3, the sea-lion of Pernetty (Platyrhynchus leoninus, 

 F. Cuvier), a native of the Falkland Islands. 



Forster's sea-lion is a native of the southern seas, 

 frequenting the Magellanic coast, Terra del Fuego, 

 and the Magellanic Islands. The skin is thick, 

 the hair reddish, yellowish, or dark brown : no fur 

 or short wool under the long hair. A mane on 

 the neck of the male reaches to the shoulders. 

 Head small in proportion to the body, which is 

 everywhere equally thick-looking, as Buffbn de- 

 scribes it, like a great cylinder, more suited for roll- 

 ing than walking. Ears conical, about six or seven 

 lines long ; cartilage firm and stiff, but yet rather 

 curled at the margin. Upper lip overhanging the 

 lower, both furnished with long, coarse, black 

 whiskers, which become white with age. Length 

 from ten to fourteen feet ; the females shorter and 

 more slender. 



Captain Cook states that it is not at all perilous 

 to go among these animals, for they either fled or 

 stood still. The only danger was in going between 

 them and the sea; for if they took fright at anything, 

 they would come down in such numbers, that the 

 person in the way would be run over. When he 

 and his party came suddenly upon them, or waked 

 them out of their sleep, they would laise up then- 

 heads, snort and snarl, and look fierce, as if they 

 meant to devour the intruder ; but when the men 

 advanced, the sea-lions always ran away. He states 

 that the male is surrounded by from twenty to thirty 

 females, and that he is very attentive to keep them 

 all to himself, beating off every male that attempts 

 to come to his flock. Others, again, had a less 

 number, some no more than one or two ; and here 

 and there was seen one lying growling in a retired 

 place, suffering neither males nor females to come 

 near him. These he judged to be old and super- 

 annuated. 



Forster relates that the rocks along the shore in 

 New Year's Harbour were covered with multitudes 

 of these sea-lions. " We put into a little cove under 

 the shelter of some rocks," says he, "and fired at 

 some of these fierce animals, most of which imme- 

 diately threw themselves into the sea. Some of the 

 most unwieldy however kept their ground, and were 

 killed by our bullets. The noise which all the ani- 

 mals of this kind made was various, and sometimes 

 stunned our ears. The old males snort and roar 

 like mad bulls or lions, the females bleat exactly 

 like calves, and the young cubs like lambs. They 

 live together in numerous herds. The oldest and 

 fattest males lie apart, each having chosen a large 

 rock to which none of the rest dare approach with- 

 out engaging in furious combat." Forster goes on 

 to relate that they were often seen to seize each 

 other with an indescribable degree of rage, and that 

 many of them had deep gashes on their backs, 

 which they had received in the wars. The younger 

 active sea-lions, with all the females and the cubs, 

 lay together. They commonly awaited the approach 

 of the people ; but as soon as some of the herd 

 were killed, the rest precipitately fled, some females 

 carrying off a cub in their mouths, while many were 

 so terrified that they left the young behind. When 

 undisturbed, they were often observed caressing each 

 other in the most tender manner, and their snouts 

 often met together as if they were kissing. The 

 same author states that they come on shore on those 

 uninhabited spots to breed, and that they do not 

 feed during their stay on land, which sometimes 

 lasts for several weeks ; they then grow lean, and 

 swallow a considerable quantity of stones to distend 

 the stomach. He adds that the stomachs of many 

 of them were found entirely empty, and those of 

 others were filled with ten or twelve round heavy 

 stones, each of the size of two fists. 



1010, 1011.— The Walrus, or Morse 

 (Irichecus Rosmarus). Leaving the genuine seals, 

 we come to the genus Trichecus, of which we are 

 acquainted with only one species, the Walrus or 



Morse, and Sea-cow of the British ; Morse, Vache 

 Marine, Cheval Marin, and Bete a la grande dent 

 of the French. It is the Horse-whale or Whale- 

 horse (Hval-ros) of Octher the Norwegian, who, 

 about the year 890, made his report of it to Alfred, 

 as having in its teeth bones of great, price and ex- 

 cellency, some of which he brought to the king on 

 his return from his voyage beyond Norway; also 

 Rosmar of the Norwegians ; Morss or Morsh of the 

 Russians, and Morsk of the Laplanders. 



The walrus is a native of the polar regions of both 

 hemispheres, and it is more than probable that the 

 arctic animal is specifically distinct from the ant- 

 arctic, though in habits and manners they agree 

 precisely. The arctic walrus has occasionally vi- 

 sited the British shores, and is therefore figured by 

 Mr. Bell in his ' History of British Quadrupeds,' 

 though it can scarcely be accounted one of their 

 number. In general form, no less than in habits, 

 the walrus closely resembles the larger species of 

 seals, but it differs from all the species of this group 

 in the general contour of the skull and in the dental 

 formula. Fig. 1012 represents the skull and lower 

 jaw; Fig. 1013 the molars and atusk of this animal. 

 The first peculiarity which strikes us in the skull 

 of the walrus consists in the enormous magnitude of 

 the canine teeth of the upper-jaw, which are from 

 eighteen inches to two feet in length, stout and 

 solid, with large roots imbedded in protuberant 

 alveoli, or sockets, occupying the anterior part of the 

 muzzle, and rising above the cranium, which appears 

 of disproportionate volume. The immense develop- 

 ment of the alveoli of these canines, gives a swollen 

 appearance to the face, which is increased by the 

 tumid character of the lips, coyered with thick 

 wiry moustaches. The dentition is as follows : — 

 Upper-jaw, incisors four, of which the two middle 

 are deciduaty, falling out at an early period ; the 

 two lateral have the character of molars. Of the 

 enormous canines we have already spoken. Molars 

 on each side four, cylindrical, short, and obliquely 

 truncate; lower jaw, incisors wanting, canines want- 

 ing ; molars as in the upper jaw. The lower jaw is 

 not. only small in proportion to the general volume 

 of the skull, but is compressed as it proceeds, in 

 order to fit in between the huge canines of the 

 upper jaw, which sweep with a gentle curve per- 

 pendicularly downward. The nostrils, in conse- 

 quence of the development of those imbedded in the 

 maxillary bones, are thrown upwards, so as to open 

 considerably above the muzzle with a vertical aspect. 

 The eyes are small, but brilliant ; the orifices of the 

 ears are placed very far backwards on the head ; the 

 neck is short and thick, the chest of great volume ; 

 the tail short ; the body thinly clothed with short 

 stiff brownish hair : the hinder paddles are large. 

 In length the walrus attains to fifteen or sixteen 

 feet, and its body not only yields abundance of oil, 

 but its skin is highly valued for its toughness and 

 durability. The tusks of this animal, which remind 

 us of those of the elephant, are instruments both of 

 defence and of progression ; by their aid it assists 

 itself in clambering up floating icebergs, or in tra- 

 versing the fields of ice along the shore, to which it 

 resorts both to rest and breed. It uses them also 

 with great effect in defending itself from the attacks 

 of the polar bear, which may be regarded as its 

 most formidable adversary, and with which it often 

 engages in bloody conflicts. But there is also 

 another use to which these tusks are destined : the 

 walrus feeds to a great, extent on a species of marine 

 vegetable, the fucus digitatus, and these instruments 

 are admirably calculated for tearing up the long 

 wreaths of sea-weed fast rooted in the bed of the 

 ocean. Besides this vegetable, they also feed upon 

 other aliment ; Mr. Scoresby found in their stomachs 

 shrimps, a kind of crayfish, and the remains of 

 young seals. They are probably omnivorous. 



The Walrus, like the seal, is gregarious in its 

 habits, and is often observed in vast flocks reposing 

 upon the ice, or upon rocky islands or sand-banks ; 

 on these occasions some appear to act as sentinels, 

 and give notice of the approach of an enemy ; then- 

 voice is a loud roar or bray, and may be heard at a 

 considerable distance : Captain Cook observes that 

 in the night or in foggy weather, the roaring of the 

 walruses gave notice of the vicinity of the ice 

 before it could be seen. When attacked or fired 

 at, the whole troop rushes tumultously into the 

 sea; should one be wounded, its companions hasten 

 with loud cries to the rescue, and, emboldened by 

 their numbers, assail the boat with great ferocity, 

 and endeavour to upset or break it with then- 

 powerful tusks. The thickness and toughness of 

 the skin render it no easy matter to drive a lance 

 or harpoon into the animal's body, and a sharp 

 weapon not unfrequently glances oft' without pierc- 

 ing. When wounded on shore, the morse turns 

 furiously upon its adversary, striking right and left 

 with its tusks, and endeavouring to dash him to the 

 ground ; then roaring with pain and fury it makes 

 off into the sea, where it is joined by its companions. 

 Zorgdrager, in his description of the Greenland 



fishery (1750), statea that before the morse had been 

 so persecuted, large troops would often advance on 

 the shore to a considerable distance from the edge 

 of the water, so that it was easy to cut off their 

 retreat, and the more so as the animals exhibited 

 no alarm on seeing the approach of the hunters, 

 who would often kill several before the rest 

 attempted to regain the sea. As is the ease with 

 the whale, the annual slaughter made among these 

 animals for the sake of their oil, and of their tusks, 

 which are of the finest ivory, has thinned their 

 numbers, or driven them from haunts where they 

 formerly abounded, to seek shelter in more inac- 

 cessible localities. That they are not without 

 courage or sympathy for their wounded companions 

 there is ample testimony. When Martens wounded 

 one, others speedily surrounded the boat, and whilst 

 some endeavoured to pierce it with their tusks, 

 others raised themselves out of the water and en- 

 deavoured to board her. Captain Phipps, after- 

 wards Lord Mulgrave, relates that when near a low 

 flat island opposite Waygat's Straits in 1773, two 

 of the officers went in a boat in pursuit of sea- 

 horses. They fired at one and wounded it. The ani- 

 mal was alone when it was wounded, but diving into 

 the sea, it brought back a number of others. They 

 made a united attack upon the boat, wrested an oar 

 from one of the men, and were with difficulty pre- 

 vented from staving or oversetting her ; but a boat 

 from the Carcass joining that from the Racehorse, 

 they dispersed. Captain Phipps adds that one of 

 that ship's boats had before been attacked in the 

 same manner off Moffen Island. Sir Edward 

 Parry encountered about two hundred in Foxe's 

 Channel, lying piled as usual over each other on 

 the loose drift-ice. A boat's crew from both the 

 Fury and Hecla went to attack them, but they 

 made a desperate resistance, some with their cubs 

 mounted on their backs, and one of them tore the 

 planks of a boat in two or three places. Their 

 parental aff'ectionis great. Captain Cook states that 

 on the approach of the boats, which were hoisted out 

 to attack them in Behring's Straits, all the Walruses 

 took their cubs under their fins, and endeavoured 

 to escape with them from the ice into the sea. 

 Several whose young were killed and wounded, and 

 were left floating on the surface, rose again and 

 carried them down, sometimes just as the people 

 were going to take them into the boat: and they 

 might be traced bearing them to a great distance 

 through the water, which was coloured with their 

 blood. They were afterwards observed bringing 

 them up at times above the surface, as if for air, 

 and again diving under it with a dreadful bellow- 

 ing. The female in particular, whose young had 

 been destroyed and taken into the boat, became so 

 enraged that she attacked the cutter, and struck her 

 tusks" through the bottom of it. 



In the arctic regions the flesh of the walrus is 

 held by the natives in great estimation ; Sir Edward 

 Parry remarks that the flesh was tolerably good, 

 affording variety amid the ordinary sea fare. The 

 ivory is "finer than that of the elephant; the skin 

 makes excellent carriage-harness ; and the oil is va- 

 luable, though only from twenty to thirty gallons are 

 yielded by a single carcass ; its blubber, as Crantz 

 says, being white and solid like bacon, and a hand's 

 breadth thick, but not giving out much fluid oil. 



Fig. 1014 represents a Greenlander in his kajak 

 hunting seals. 



Seals' flesh, says Crantz, supplies the Green- 

 landers "with their most palatable and substantial 

 food ; the fat furnishes them with oil for lamp-light, 

 chamber and kitchen fire ; and whoever sees their 

 habitations presently finds that, even if they had 

 superfluity of wood, it would not be of use, they 

 can use nothing but oil in them. They also mollity 

 their dry food, mostly fish, with oil ; and finally 

 they barter it for all kinds of necessaries with the 

 factor. They can sew better with fibres of the 

 seals' sinews than with thread or silk ; of the skins 

 of the entrails they make window-curtains for their 

 tents, and shirts; part of the bladder they use as a 

 float to their harpoons, and Ihey make oil-flasks of 

 the stomach. Neither is the blood wasted, but is 

 boiled up with other ingredients and eaten as soup. 

 Of the skin of the seal they stand in the greatest 

 need, because they must cover with seal-skins both 

 the large and small boats in which they travel and 

 seek their provisions. They must also cut out of 

 them their thongs and straps, and cover their tents 

 with them, without which they could not subsist in 

 summer. No man therefore can pass for a right 

 Greenlander who cannot catch seals. This is the 

 ultimate end they aspire at in all their device and 

 labour from their childhood up.'' To the Green- 

 lander, then, the sea is his pasturage, where his 

 flocks and herds are fed ; the sea is his hunting- 

 domain, where, in his light kajak, he skims over the 

 waves. 



" There tumbling iu their seal skin-boat, 

 Fearless the hungry fishers float, 

 And from teeming seas supply 

 'Die food their niggard plains deny." 



