WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 
was swimming and diving about in the water like an adult 
animal. It uttered a low soft hah, or single call-note, and 
looked about for its mother, and crawled towards her when 
she came out of the water. She turned upon her side in 
order to let it suck, and I had every reason to believe that 
all was going on well. The young seal slept well, some- 
times on its belly, sometimes on its side. The mother, 
however, appeared unwell and in great pain, and on the 
following day (Wednesday) suddenly plunged into the 
water and sunk to the bottom. Believing she was dying, 
I had her assisted out of the pond. She was in strong 
convulsions, and continued to roll and struggle until the 
next morning (this day), when she died. She appears to 
have had no milk. Finding the female unable to suckle 
her young one, I had it removed to the house, and have 
fed it by means of a bottle with warm milk, and a small 
quantity of cod-liver oil added to the milk. 
The statement having been made that the species of seal 
could be distinguished by the mode of shedding its first 
coat (I believe it is said that the common seal, P. mtidina, 
sheds its coat as soon as born, while the P.fcetida sheds its 
first coat before its birth), I beg to say that this supposed 
distinction is shown by the above remarks to be of no value 
whatever as a means of distinguishing the species. I have 
no doubt both species are alike in this particular ; and I 
have no doubt, from what I have seen, that the outer fur is 
sometimes shed before birth and sometimes immediately 
after birth in both species alike. 
The young seal was 32 in. long, and weighed 20 lbs. at 
its birth. 
It appears to me that the young animal shedding its 
outer covering compensates for the absence of the licking 
generally bestowed upon young animals by their mother. 
The seals never lick. 
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