-5- 
VJe saw several very young(one to two day old) pups with, their enormously rau 
mothers a and at least two heavily gravid females that should give birth very 
IT 
soon 
• This indicates to me that the pupping season began in early spring. 
and is continuing through the present* 
Mortality 
Three dead 
adult seals were found on ^aysan island curing the survey 
Two were in a very advanced state os decomposition, tax was undeterminable 
on all three specimens. One skull was collected. On Lisianski, two skulls 
were collected, one from a decomposing pup or immature, the other was found 
lying on the beach. 
Sharks spawning in the vicinity of Laysan island did not appear to bother 
the seals swimming in the same area. Several adult sears nad enoruous 
on their back, and one adult male hauled out on the beach at Laysan had a 
large deep gash across his back just in front or the hind clippers, 
older pups of the year were seen to have large circular back wounds(4 u diam. x 
2 s3 deep) that might have been inflicted by octopus or souia, or even storey 
eei( I have seen almost identical scars on young elephant seals in areas where 
there are no moray eels.) The severity of these wounds indicates that there 
must be at least some mortality as a result of whate ver toe w ouna-inflicting 
u o wU '' u ^ 9 
wLiwU wUUi.e 
267. no re pups than, all subadult animals older 
than this years pups, indicates that either the population is growing, o^, 
the population is s 
•i C c* 
table, approximately 20% of the pups or the year do noc survive 
to the following year. The latter seems to tra to be the case 
Note on counting seels 
We spray painted gold narks on 34 seals on Lisianski island during the course 
of our counts, and four titles observed painted seals hauled out on beacnes 
which we had not yet counted. This indicates a possible source or inaccuracy 
