277 
P H O C A. 
from twelve to fifteen hundred pounds: the females are 
from fix to eight feet in length, more fiender made than 
the males, and quite fmooth. They inhabit in vaft num¬ 
bers Penguin and Seal ifiands, near Cape Defire, on the 
coaft of Patagonia; are found within the (traits of Ma¬ 
gellan, and on the Falkland Ides ; but have not yet been 
difcovered in any other part of the foil them hemif- 
phere, or in any other place nearer than the fea between 
Kamtfchatka and America : the inhabitants of Chili 
call them thapel lump, or the feal with a mane. They live 
in families feparate from the urfine and other feals; thefe 
polfefs the beach neared to the fea ; they have much of 
the lethargic nature of the former, and, like them, are po¬ 
lygamous ; they have a fierce look; the old ones fnort 
and roar like enraged bulls; but, on the approach of man¬ 
kind, fly with great precipitation; the females make a 
noife like calves; the young bleat like lambs. The males 
frequently go into the water, take a large circuit, land, 
and carefs their females with great affeftion ; put fnout 
to fnout as if they were killing one another; the females, 
on feeing their male deftroyed, will fometimes attempt to 
carry away a cub in their mouth, but oftener defert them 
through fear. The food of thefe animals is the finaller 
feals, penguins, and fifli; but while they are afliore they 
endure, in breeding time, a faft of three or four months; 
but, to keep their ftomachs diflended, will fwallow a 
number of large (tones, each as big as two fids. This is 
the “ fea-lion” of Cook, Forfter, and Pernetti. 
4. Phoca vitulina, the common feal, or fea-calf: ears 
none; neck fmooth, body brown. This has large black 
eyes ; large whilkers ; oblong noftrils; flat head and nofe; 
and a fliort tail. Its body is covered with thick (hort hair, 
and its toes are furnifhed with ftrong (harp claws. Its 
ufual length is from five to fix feet. 
It inhabits mod quarters of the globe, but in greated 
multitudes towards the north and the fouth; they fwarm 
near the Arftic circle, and the lower parts of South Ame¬ 
rica, in both oceans; near the fouthern end of Terra del 
Fuego; and even among the floating ice as low as fouth 
lat. 60. ai. They are alfo found in the Cafpian Sea, in 
the lake Aral, and lakes Baikal and Oron, which are fre/h 
waters. They arelefs than thofe which frequent fait wa¬ 
ters; but fo fat, that they feem almod fliapelefs. In lake 
Baikal fome are covered with filvery hairs ; others are yel- 
Jowifli, and have a large dark-coloured mark on the hind 
part of the back, covering almod a third of the body. At 
approach of winter they go up the Jaik, and are killed in 
great numbers on the ice: they are fought for their (kins 
and the oil 5 numbers are dedroyed by the wolves and 
jackals, for which reafon the l'eal-htinters watch mod 
carefully the haunts of the feals in order to drive away 
their enemies. The feafons for hunting the feals are 
fpring and autumn. 
Seals bring two young at a time, which for fome (hort 
fpaceare white and woolly; they bring forth in autumn, 
and fuckle their young in caverns, or in rocks, till they 
are fix or feven weeks old, when they take to the fea: they 
cannot continue long under water, and are therefore very 
frequently obliged to rife to take breath, and often float 
on the waves. In funimer they deep on rocks, or on 
fand-banks ; if furprifed, they precipitate into the fea, or, 
if at any difiance, they fcramble along and fling up the 
i'and.and gravel with great force with their hind feet, 
making a piteous moaning : if overtaken, they will make 
a vigorous defence with their feet and teeth : a flight 
blow on the nofe kills them, otherwife they will bear 
numbers of wounds. It does not appear that the Caf¬ 
pian feal-hunters are acquainted with the method. They 
never go any great didance from land : feed on all forts of 
fifli; are themfelves good food, and often eaten by voy¬ 
agers : they are killed for the dike of the oil made from 
their fat; a young feal will yield eight gallons: their 
(kins are very ufeful in making waidcoats, covers for 
trunks, and other conveniences: thofe of the lake Baikal 
Vol.XX. No. 1367. 
are fold to the Chinefe, who dye, and fell them to the 
Mongols to face their fur-coats: they are the wealth of 
the Greenlanders, Applying them with every neceflary 
of life. 
In this fpecies the legs are fo very fliort as to be fcarcely 
perceptible; and the hinder ones are fo placed as to be 
only of ufe to the animal in fwimming, or but very little 
to a did it in walking; being fituated at the extremity of 
the body. When thefe animals colleft together in great 
numbers on the fliore, they difrufe a very Itrong and dif- 
agreeable fmeli ; a faft that is noticed by Homer, who 
reprefents Menelaus relating his adventure on the ifle of 
Pharos, where he was condrained to lie for a time among 
a flock of feals, difguifed in the (kin of one of thefe ani¬ 
mals. The drufture of the feal is fo lingular, that, as 
Buflon ohferves, it was a kind of model on which poets 
formed their tritons, firens, and fea-gods, with a human 
head, the body of a quadruped, and the tail of a fifli. 
The feal is fuppofed to be a very long-lived animal. Like 
other quadrupeds, they have various inflexions of the 
voice, according to the paflions with which they arein- 
fpired. They are (aid, however, to differ from them in 
this, that they delight in thunder dorms, and at fuch pe¬ 
riods fit on rocks, and contemplate with feeming delight 
the convulfions of the elements. 
Of the three fpecies of feals that frequent our coads, 
only the common feal is foundinanyabundar.ee; and 
this, principally, on the mod rocky and uninhabited 
fliores’of Scotland and Ireland. About the Land’s End, 
in Cornwall, they are more numerous than on any other 
coad of South Britain, unlefs a few parts of Wales; and, 
fometimes, individuals are found off Cumberland, Lan- 
cafliire, and other maritime counties. 
The common feal, even when taken old, is capable of 
being domellicated. A feal caught on the Welfn coad, 
and fent by water to London, was brought to St. Bartho¬ 
lomew’s Hofpital. During the voyage it had been fed 
modly upon milk, and on arrival it had become fo fami¬ 
liar, as to After the man who brought it to play with it 
like a dog, and would lick his hands and face with great 
complacency; and fuch was its attachment, that, after his 
departure from the hofpital, it for fome time emitted a 
melancholy noife, evidently bemoaning its lofs; and died 
in the enfuing week. 
A live feal, caught below Yarmouth, was brought to 
Ipfwich, and carried about in a bafket as a fliow. Dr. 
Hamilton faw and examined it. The animal was fo 
gentle as to fuller him, though a dranger, to droke its 
head ; while it turned quickly about, with open mouth, 
like a dog in the aft of playing, rolling its fine black 
eyes, as if greatly delighted.' It alfo allowed him, with¬ 
out any difficulty, to examine its fore-feet; and to ex¬ 
tend, in order to view their drufture, the webs of the 
hind ones, 
A gentleman in the neighbourhood of Burntifland, in 
Fifefliire, Scotland, has completely fucceeded in taming 
one of thefe animals. Its Angularities daily continue to 
attraft the curiofity of drangers. It appears to pofiefs all 
the fagacity of the dog, lives in its mailer’s houfe, and 
eats from his hand. He ufually takes it away with him 
in his fifhing excurfiotis, upon which occafion it aflords 
no frnall entertainment. When thrown into the water, it 
will follow for miles the track of the boat; and, although 
thfiud back by the oars, it never relinquifhes its purpofe. 
Indeed, it druggies fo hard to regain its feat, that one 
would imagine its fondnefs for its mafler had entirely 
overcome the natural predileftion for its native element. 
Monthly Mag. 1819. 
Mr. Laing (Voyage to Spitzbergen, 1815.) notices the 
fenfibility to mufical founds which thefe creatures difeo- 
ver, and which deferves to be quoted, becaufe it corrobo¬ 
rates the fufpefted flatements of oilier writers : “ The 
captain’s fon, who was a good performer on the violin, 
never failed to have a numerous auditory, when we were 
4 B in 
