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Figure 15. - Positions and actions of fur seals, as shown in Investigation of 
the Fur Seal and Sea Otter (Bibl 48), p 86. Translation of the caption: "“Atti- 
tudes of Fur Seal on the Sea: (1) Those sleeping on the sea, (2) those hold- 
ing up the head for look out and breathing, (3) those getting rid of lice etc, 
(4) those jumping." 
followed very easily, for no matter how slight a disturbance they make in surfacing, the 
swirl can be spotted immediately and the chase continued, On calm, sunny daye they can 
often be seen swimming under water when close to the ship, Under such conditions a high 
percentage of the animals sighted and pursued are taken, 
Most seals are killed at ranges of from 25 to 50 yarde. They breach so rapidly 
when trying to escape that the head is submerged before the shot can be fired, and most of 
them are etruck in the body. Experienced hunters claim leas than one percent of the seals 
killed will sink before they can be recovered, especially in the autwnn, winter, and early 
spring. In late spring the animals are more likely to sink, particularly gravid females 
heavy with young. During the 10 days of collecting operations in March 1949, one badly 
shot female was the only wounded animal to escape. The other 22 animals hit all were 
killed outright, and all floated with the back uppermost and little more than awash until 
retrieved. <A wounded seal can be detected at once by the blood stains in the water immedi- 
ately following the shot. They usually die easily and quickly when hit, and float to the 
eurface. They then are retrieved as apeedily as possible with a four-pronged gaff on a 12- 
foot bamboo pole, with which the seal is hooked in the flipper to avoid making unnecessary 
tears in the skin. 
In the old days of pelagic sealing the catch had to be skinned at sea. the valu- 
able hides were packed in salt, and the rest of the carcasses were dumped overboard. This 
