Feb. 5, 1910.] 
213 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Captive Fur-Seal Pups. 
There are now in Washington at the Bureau 
of Fisheries the only two Alaska fur seal pups 
existing in captivity. Until very recently there 
was no record of Alaska fur seals being fed 
in captivity, and living for any considerable 
length of time. Nearly forty years ago the 
Alaska Commercial Company sent two young 
live fur seals to Woodward Garden in San 
Francisco, but after several months’ confinement 
there they died of starvation, having eaten noth¬ 
ing during their captivity. It is generally known 
that the bull fur seal lives for months without 
taking food. 
The credit for the life of the two fur seal 
pups now in Washington is due to Judson 
Thurber, boatswain on the Revenue Cutter Bear, 
whose patience and ingenuity have resulted in 
what, up to the present time, seems a successful 
effort to rear and domesticate the fur seals. If 
this can be carried out it will mean a great deal, 
for since the inception of pelagic sealing in the 
Bering Sea, millions of fur seal pups have 
starved to death and their product—the fur— 
has thus been lost. Pelagic sealing, as is gen¬ 
erally known, results in the killing at sea of the 
mother seals, who leave their young to go off 
and fish, and when the mother fails to return 
and the pup cannot nurse, starvation ensues. 
In a recent number of Science, B. W. Ever- 
mann and Walter I. Lembkey have told interest¬ 
ingly the story of how these pups came to be 
captured, and from other sources we have more 
recent information about their adventures dur¬ 
ing the last few weeks. The article says: 
“The effort had its inception in the desire of 
Dr. Fox, the surgeon of the Bear, to ascertain 
whether the fur seal carried ectoparasites. For 
this purpose a starving fur seal pup, whose 
mother had been killed while feeding at sea, 
was given to the Bear’s surgeon who was un¬ 
able to discover any of the parasites mentioned. 
The half starved little animal was then taken 
by Judson Thurber, the Bear’s boatswain, who 
desired to attempt feeding the pup by artificial 
means. Fie was so far successful in his efforts 
that he induced this pup to eat dried fish from 
his hand and kept it in good condition for three 
weeks, when it died in convulsions. Desiring 
to carry the experiment further, Mr. Thurber 
obtained two well conditioned fur seal pups, a 
male and a female, from the Pribilof Islands on 
Oct. 9, which he induced to eat regularly and 
even greedily, and which are now fat and in 
prime condition.” 
The two pups were delivered to the Revenue 
Cutter Manning Oct. 9, and by the Manning to 
the Bear Oct. 14. They did not eat between 
these dates. Oct. 19 the female began to eat 
solid fish. Oct. 23 the male was chloroformed 
and the frenum—a membrane which tends to 
restrain the free movement of the tongue—was 
severed. Oct. 28 the male was induced to swal¬ 
low a little dried salmon and on Nov. 2 it began 
to eat at will and devoured nine small fresh 
herrings. 
“Mr. Thurber began his experiments by forc¬ 
ing condensed milk down the throat of the 
starving pup first obtained. In doing so he dis¬ 
covered that the animal experienced difficulty in 
swallowing and attributed this to the fact that 
the movement of the tongue was restricted by 
the frenum. This Mr. Thurber at once severed 
forcibly with his finger, upon which the pup 
soon after began to eat fish. After the death 
of this pup and his securing the two others the 
same impediment to the free movement of the 
tongue was noted. The female, it is stated, 
succeeded in breaking the frenum by her own 
effort and a few days afterward began to eat. 
The male being unable to do this on Oct. 23 
was chloroformed and his frenum cut. Imme¬ 
diately after this the male began to protrude 
its tongue and to nose the fish in the inclosure, 
but did not eat, possibly because no suitable 
food was obtainable at sea. Upon the arrival 
of the vessel at Seattle small herrings were fed 
to the pups, and both animals ate greedily.” 
The female pup was much more easily handled 
than the male. She was without food for only ten 
TWO OF THE SKUNKS BORN IN CAPTIVITY. 
Photographed by Mrs. W. W. Christman. 
days, and remained in good condition during 
her whole captivity. On the other hand, the 
male was practically without food for twenty- 
four days and grew very thin. As soon as he 
began feeding, however, he regained his good 
condition and is now as fat as his mate. 
“The pups have been kept on board the Bear 
in a box six feet long by three feet wide. At 
first this box was filled with sea water two or 
three times a day. Now the box is kept filled 
with water during the day and is emptied at 
night. They manifest no desire to leave the 
water during the day and frequently sleep on 
the surface. In the morning, when the box is 
filled with water, they show every indication 
of delight. They are very tame and, when not 
in the water, will allow any one to fondle them 
unless a quick motion is made, when they will 
snap, but even then will bite gently if the hand 
is allowed to remain quiet. 
“In conducting this experiment Mr. Thurber 
used great patience and no little skill. He be¬ 
gan feeding the animals by holding their mouths 
open and pouring into their mouths evaporated 
cream mixed with bits of fish. The pups re¬ 
sented this, but small quantities went into their 
stomachs. Later Mr. Thurber would tie bits 
of fish on the end of a string and tease the 
animals until they would snap at the fish. Then 
he would manage to poke the fish down the 
seal’s throat and cut off the string. In this way 
the female was taught the taste for fish, after 
which she soon learned to eat voluntarily.” 
Missouri Winter Birds. 
Warrensburg, Mo., Jan. 23. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have read recently in Forest 
and Stream articles from bird students in the 
East, and I gather that bird life is particularly 
scarce from mid December until February. One 
observer reports that he is lucky in meeting six 
or eight species and that not more than fifteen 
species are to be met with during this period. 
Fortunately in our section the bird life num¬ 
bers more species during this period. Almost 
any day one may go afield and meet with from 
twenty to twenty-five and even thirty species, 
and our winter birds—including both permanent 
and winter residents — number perhaps fifty 
species. 
December was the coldest on record, and I 
was surprised to note the presence of several 
birds one would scarcely look for. Up to date 
our winter has been the most severe in years, 
yet I feel safe in stating that our numbers of 
birds have not been affected by the severity of 
the winter; in fact, I have seen more different 
birds this past winter than during open winters. 
My list contains the names of the towhee, fox, 
song, field, tree, white-crowned and Harris spar¬ 
rows; goldfinch, junco, cardinal, purple finch, 
mockingbird, crow, Carolina wren, brown 
creeper, cedar waxwing, chickadee, nuthatch, 
golden-crowned kinglet, bluebird, robin, rusty 
blackbird, meadowlark, bluejay, prairie horned 
lark, flicker, red-bellied, red-headed, hairy and 
downy woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sapsucker 
and our almost extinct pileated woodpecker 
which breeds near here; great-horned owl, 
barred owl, screech owl, sparrow, red-tailed, 
Cooper’s and marsh hawks, dove, bobwhite, etc. 
There are several others that are met with dur¬ 
ing unusual severe weather that are not listed 
here. A. F. Smithson. 
Passenger Pigeon Awards. 
We are glad to be able to print a revised and 
corrected list of the awards offered for an un¬ 
disturbed nest of the passenger pigeon con¬ 
firmed by competent authority. The conditions 
of the offers are the same in all cases. The list 
grows. The record is complete to Jan. 30. 
Col. Anthony R. Kuser, for first nest or nesting 
colony, confirmed .. 
John Lewis Childs adds to Col. ICuser’s offer. 
John Burroughs, for first nest in New York. 
A. B. F. Kinney, for first nest in Massachusetts. 
Edw. Avis, for first nest in Connecticut. 
W. B. Mershon, for first nest in Michigan. 
Messrs. Deane & Whitman, for first nest in Illinois... 
John E. Thayer, five awards of $100 each for the five 
most likely States or Canadian Provinces from 
which no local offers have been secured by 
April 15 ... 
County awards: Allen B. Miller for first nest found 
in Worcester county. Mass. 
700 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
500 
