Hawaiian Monk Seal — Kenyon and Rice 
ing. In three cases the fetal membranes had 
been detached within a few hours after birth. 
16. The mother nurses the pup from four 
abdominal nipples and apparently fasts dur- 
ing the entire nursing period. Weaning nor- 
mally takes place when the pup is about 5 
weeks old, at which time the mother de- 
serts it. 
17. The pup can swim at birth but may not 
normally take to water until the fourth day, 
after which it spends considerable time in the 
shallows daily. 
18. When moving on land, or when out of 
sight of each other, mother and pup keep in 
contact vocally. The mother apparently recog- 
nizes her pup by smell. The pup follows its 
mother closely when she moves about on 
land and in the water. 
19. The mother is affectionate towards her 
pup, and defends it aggressively from humans 
and from other seals (except other nursing 
females) . 
20. The milk teeth are resorbed before 
birth. The gums are smooth and toothless at 
birth. At 27 days after birth, all lower teeth 
and upper incisors, canines and posterior 
postcanines were erupted. At 46 days, all 
teeth were above the gums. 
21. During the postnatal molt, the hairs 
are shed individually. This occurs from about 
age 20 to 40 days, varying with individuals. 
22. The adult molt is epidermal, the outer 
layer of the epidermis sloughing off in large 
patches. This occurs between May and No- 
vember, with the majority of animals molting 
in June, Parous females do not molt until 
after the pup is weaned. 
23. At birth, pups weigh 35 to 38 pounds. 
In 5 weeks, they nearly quadruple their weight 
(average: 133 pounds). After weaning, weight 
decreases. The average weight of six year- 
lings was 99 pounds. 
24. The growth of a young captive was 
rapid, indicating that adult size may be ap- 
proached in the third year. A typical adult 
male, 7 feet long, weighed 380 pounds. Fe- 
males average larger; a living 7-foot 8-inch 
251 
female’s weight was estimated at 6OO pounds; 
this animal was one of the largest we observed. 
25. An adult male monk seal was heavily 
parasitized by Contracaecum turgidum and 
three species of Diphylkbothrium. An unknown 
species of Corymsoma was less abundant. 
26. The pelage of many seals contains a 
growth of minute green algae, Pringsheimiella 
scutata. Several species of flies (Lucilia gra- 
phita, Chrysomyia megacephala^ and Phoenicia 
sericata) cause seals considerable annoyance. 
There is negligible interspecific friction be- 
tween albatrosses {Diomedea nigripes and D. 
immutahilis) and seals. Frigate birds {Fregata 
minor) were observed following feeding seals 
to gather scraps. 
REFERENCES 
Allen, G. M. 1942. Extinct and Vanishing 
Mammals of the Western Hemisphere, Spec. 
Publ. Amer. Comm. Int. Wild Life Prot. 
11. 620 pp. 
Bailey, A. M. 1952. The Hawaiian monk 
seal. Mm. Pictorial 7: 1-32. 
Bartholomew, G. A., Jr. 1952. Reproduc- 
tive and social behavior of the northern 
elephant seal. Univ. Calif. Publ. ZooL 47: 
369-472. 
1954. Body temperature and respira- 
tory and heart rates in the northern elephant 
seal. J. Mammal. 35: 211-218. 
Bartholomew, G. A., Jr., and F, Wilke. 
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fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus. J. Mammal. 
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Bertram, G. C. L. 1940. The Biolo^ of the 
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