224 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 68 



Figure 90. — This adult male was tolerant of a deserted juvenile which slept 

 beside him and sought shelter behind him when frightened. When the adult 

 finally became alarmed, entered the water, and swam off, the juvenile 

 remained in close company with him. (KWK 62-25-24) 



sleep near them in a kelp bed, or the three may haul out on a rock 

 to groom, rest, and sleep in close association. It would appear that 

 such an association is an expression of gregariousness. On one 

 occasion I watched an adult male and female play roughly together 

 for about 15 minutes. The female was accompanied by a large 

 pup, which during the play period attempted to participate, or 

 swam about nearby and occasionally cried. Although the male 

 tentatively attempted copulation, the female was not receptive. 

 After the thi^ee had hauled out and the male had groomed and 

 rested beside the mother and pup for about 20 minutes, he entered 

 the water and left the vicinity. In this case it was apparent that, 

 although the male was sexually motivated, the association of the 

 male and female was casual, and they were not a mated pair. The 

 association described above might lead an observer to form er- 

 roneous opinions concerning breeding habits. 



Reproduction in the Female 



In this section, data from female reproductive tracts, the con- 

 ceptuses they contained, and field counts of dependent young and 



