Ixxiv 
-Pinnipedia. 
Pinnipedia. MAMMALIA. 
take cliarge of only tlivee or four females, instead of 
a whole herd, as is the habit of some Seals. 'I’he 
Sea Lion is reputed to be naturally peaceable, per- 
mitting the approach of man with indifference. It is 
‘easily taken by the hunters, and great numbers of 
them are slain — the natives securing them by means 
of poisoned arrows, as well as by the harpoon. The 
blatant voice of these creatures is something fearful. 
Tribe II— CALLORHININA. 
'J’he grinders in this tribe are f-f. The skull is 
oblong ; the face broad, shorter than the orbits, and 
the forehead arched. 
Cai,loehinl’s. 
'J'his, the typical genus, is characterized by an 
elongate skull, which has the forehead rounded in 
front of the orbits, and the same rather swollen. 
'I'lie palate is concave, as wide in front as at the 
end of the tooth line, and rather narrowed behind. 
'J'he sixth upper molar is just behind the hinder edge 
of the zygomatic arch. 'J'he fifth and sixth upper 
and the fifth lower molar have two diverging roots. 
'J’he fore-flippers are small and narrow ; the flap of 
toes very long. 
NORTHERN SEA BEAR [Callorhinus vrsinvs ) — 
Plate 13, fig. 41. — 'J'his is Fhoca ursinus of Linnaeus ; 
Otaria (Callorhinus) ursina of Peters, 1866 ; Otaria 
stelleri of Lesson and Muller; C. ursinus of Allen; 
Arctoce[ihalus ursinus of Gill, 1866 ; A. monteriensis 
and Oalifornianus of Gray, 1859 (young ones). Gray 
records this Seal as inhabiting the seas of Kamt- 
schatka. Scammon gives the Fur Seals a wide 
geographical range, extending nearly to the highest 
navigable latitudes in both northern and southern 
hemispheres. IJe observed this species in Behring 
Sea and on the coast of California. In the latter 
locality he found them breeding from May to 
August, and on the coast of Patagonia from Octo- 
ber to i\larch. 'J'he habits of the Fur Seal, according 
to Scammon, differ considerably from those of the Hair 
Seals. 'I'heir geographical range is very extended ; 
they bask in a ti'opical sun, or endure with apparent- 
ly equal comfort the rigors of the icy regions of 
the ])oles. On the coast of Chili their numbers 
were so great, in 1798, that the American ship 
Betsey procured a full cargo of skins. It was 
estimated at the time that there were left on the 
island — which is not over twenty-five miles in 
circumference — at least 500,000 Seals. Subsequently 
there were taken but little short of a million skins. 
'I'he Seal fishery in this region was carried on almost 
exclusively under the American flag. On the Pacific, 
Coast, from Gray’s Harbor to ATincouver Island, 
the native Indians take a few Fur Seals, 'the 
latter make their appearance about March, and re- 
main until midsummer; during this period the 
Indians devote their whole time to the sealing. 'I'he 
best locality for this is said to be Cape Classet. 
'The islands of St. Paul and St. George, in Behring 
Sea, are favorite localities. 'J'hat these Seals mi- 
grate is a well-known fact, but where they pass 
the winter is a puzzle to observers. 'Fhey make 
their appearance at the proper season in spri'ng, 
plump and fat; the females produce their young, 
and the countless herds remain along the shores, 
usually in selected localities, until the young are 
able to take to the sea. Observation proves that 
in some instances individuals return to the same 
rocks many years in succession. An old chief of 
the native tribes in Alaska witnessed the return of 
a Fur Seal seventeen years successively to the same 
rock. 'This Seal had lost one of his flippers, which 
rendered him very noticeable. 
A Captain Bryant spent some time upon the 
island of St. Paul, and made some very intelligent 
observations of the habits of these creatures. About 
the first of April, when the snow is quite gone and 
the drift ice has mostly passed, a few old males 
are seen in the water about the island, and, after 
two or three days’ reconnoissance, venture on 
shore and examine the rookeries, as they are called. 
After a few days, more begin to arrive, the first 
having departed to convey the information that all 
is right. 'The old males do not allow the young 
ones to come to their grounds, and they appropriate 
with considerable exactness a certain amount of 
space for themselves and harem, which consists of 
from ten to fifteen females. “ Might is right,” is 
their motto, and the old males determine their 
places by that code. 'J’he young males are kept at 
proper distance, herding by themselves at another 
portion of the shore. Captain Bryant gives some most 
extraordinary statements of the habits of the old 
males. He says : “ As soon as a female reaches the 
shore, the nearest male goes down to meet her, 
meanwhile making a noise like a clucking of a hen 
to her chickens. He bows and coaxes her, and 
then, when he has gotten himself between her and 
the water, alters his tone, and growls harshly at her, 
and drives her to a place in his harem. 'J’he males 
select a time when their neighbor ‘turk’ is away 
from his home, and then steal his wife or wives ; 
this they do by taking them in their mouths and 
lifting them over the heads of the others, carry- 
ing them as a Cat does her kittens.” Captain Bryant 
vouches for these statements, as also for the fact 
that the old males do not eat for a long period, 
while they are in attendance upon the harem. He 
says: “'The old males teach the young to swim on 
their return from feeding — the latter being rather 
reluctant at first to enter the water. By the last of 
October the Seals begin to leave the islands in small 
companies, the males going last, and by themselves.” 
'I’he account given by Captain Scammon is so 
profuse in valuable facts which are not generally 
accessible, we take it as desirable to present more 
fully the matter relating to the capture of the Fur 
Seals, and their preparation for market. During 
the months of June and September the natives take 
the largest number for their skins. It will be seen 
how much more of a terrestrial animal the Eared 
Seal [Otariadce) is than those of the Phocidm, as the 
latter (ti'e too much like a fish to travel upon land 
