BRITISH MAMMALS 
The Ringed Seal — the netsik of the Esquimaux hunters — forms the 
chief food supply of these people, as it does not leave the ice in winter. 
Dr. Kane {Arctic Explorations, pp. 153-154) says "the seal are shot 
lying by their atluk or breathing holes. As the season draws near 
midsummer they are more approachable : their eyes being so congested 
by the glare of the sun that they are sometimes nearly blind. . . . Each 
seal yields a liberal supply of oil, the average thus far being five gallons 
each. . . . The netsik will not perforate ice more than one season's 
growth, and are looked for therefore where there was open water the 
previous year." • 
They pass much of their time on the ice near their breathing holes, 
ready to slip under water on the least alarm. 
The old males have a strong offensive odour, which is said to be 
imparted to the Esquimaux when they eat these animals. 
THE HARP OR GREENLAND SEAL. 
Phoca grwnlandica, Fabricius. 
• Plate i J. 
This strikingly marked species, of which an adult male is shown in 
the Plate, measures from 5 to 6 feet in length. 
The predominant colour is a yellowish white, with two irregular bands 
of deep purplish brown or black along the flanks, which meet on the 
shoulders. 
The muzzle, face, and sides of the head are also of the same dark 
colour. 
The females are less distinctly marked, and are often grey on the 
upper parts, with some dark spots. 
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