S66 URSINE SEAL. 
out, but smooth and polished within. The length 
of the fore legs is about twenty-four inches, and 
they are less immersed in the body than those of 
other Seals : the feet are formed with toes, but are 
covered with a naked skin^ and have merely the 
rudiments of nails, so that their general shape ap- 
proaches to that of the fore feet of the small yel- 
low or eared Seal^ before described, giving them 
the appearance of a turtle's fin : the hind legs are 
twenty-two mches long, and are fixed to the body 
behind, but are capable of being brought quite 
forwards occasionally, so that the animal can rub 
its head with them: these feet are divided into 
five toes, separated by a large web, and are a foot 
broad: the tail is only two inches long. The hair 
is long and rough, and beneath it is a soft down 
of a bay colour: on the neck of the male the hair 
is upright, and a little longer than the rest. The 
general colour of the animal is black, but the 
hair of the old ones is tipped with grey; and the 
females are cinereous. The flesh of the females 
and the young is said to resemble lamb, and the 
young are said to be as good as sucking pigs. 
The manners of this species are so well describ- 
ed by Mr. Pennant, from Steller and others who 
have had opportunities of contemplating them in 
their native regions, that it is impossible to wish 
for more ample information. They live in fami- 
lies; each male has from eight to fifty females, 
whom he guards with the jealousy of an Eastern 
monarch. Though they lie by thousands on the 
shore, each family keeps itself separate from the 
