Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-09-08
THE FUR SEAL.
From Mr.. Eiliott's Report.

From Mr.. EiliOtt's Report.
The hair seal, distributed all over the
littoral salt waters of the earth, has been
rersistently mistaken by naturalists for
the fur seal and sea lion, which, though
it belongs to the great group of pima
peds, it no more resembles than ''a rae
coon does a grizzly bear"
No animal is physically superior to
the fur seal, and few, if any have high
er order of instinct approaching intelli-
gence.
Between the 1st and 9Th of May, q
few fine, ambitious seals, of six or seven
years old, will swim leisurely toward
the island, will carry the head high, and
deliberately survey the beach. Some
will play idly among the waters, ready
to land as soon as, and no sooner than,
1t Is necessary. Others will land ut
once. A seal, when he lands, steps (the
fore-flippers alternate in walking) two
steps, then arches his spine, bringing
the hind-flippers under him, and then
steps again, the body never touching the
ground and the head held erect and
graceful three feet above the ground,
with his long mustache falling down his
shoulders like plume. He will select
lot near the water-line of six or eight
feet, and settle down upon it. He will
be six or seven feet in length, and weigh
at least 400 pounds; older ones will
weigh 600 pounds. Compared to the
immensely thick neck and shoulders,
which are two-thirds of his whole
weight, his head seems disproportion-
ately small, but it is almost all brain.
He has large, bluish-hazel eyes, that
burn with revengeful or passionate light,
which changes TO tenderness and good
nature. He has the muzzle and jaws of
a full-blooded Newfoundland dog, but
Its lips press together like mans. The
upper lip has yellowish white and
gray long mustache. The fore-flippers
are pair of blush black hands, eight
or nine inches broad at the junction with
the body, the metacarpal joint running
opt fifteen or eighteen inches to an ovate
point. On the upper side of these flip
psrs the hair of the body straggles down
fainter and finer to the point where the
metacarpal bones unite with the pha-
langes (where our knuckles are); here
the hair ends. On the under side the skin
is bare from the extremity to the body
connection. The hind-fipper is like a
human foot, drawn out to the length of
twenty to twenty-five inches, the instep
aattened down. The bones are like
pasteboard.
With his fore-fippers he does all his
climbing on land-the hind are gath
cred up as useless trappings; they are
also his propelling power in the water,
the hind serving only as rudders. He
has two coverings, one close soft fur.
the other short crisp glistening hair.
The down and feathers on a duck lie
relatively as the fur and hair on the seal.
After he dries off, his prevailing color
Is dark dull brown, with a sprinkling
of lighter brown and black. The old
have grizzly gray coats; on the should
ers of all the adults is the wig, either
gray or rufous ochre, or q very pro-
nounced pepper and salt. The body
cOlors are most intense on the back of
the head. neck, and spine. His ears
are from an inch to an inch and a half
In length, and can be rolled up on them
selves, and his hearing is surprisingly
acute.
The sea lion has but one call or note !;
the walrus one. Tho hair seals voice
is inaudible, but the fur seal has four
distinct calls. He has hoarse, reso-
nant roar, loud and long; he has an en-
tirely different low, gurgling growl; he
has chuckling, sibilant, piping whis-
tie; and a choo-choo-choo sound, like
steam-puffs from locomotive.
Until the lst to the 10th of June but
few more come, and all is quiet. About
that time the foggy, humid summer sets
IN, and the male seals swarm by thou
sands and locate in positions advantage
GUS to receive the females, that come q
month to six weeks later. The locating
and maintaining q position becomes q
serious business to those that come last,
and it is all the time to those that take
the water-line. They fight day and
night without cessation, frequently to
the death of one or both combatants. 1t
seems law that each shall have q lot.
of six or eight feet, provided he is strong
enough to keep it till the females come,
and some wear themselves out fighting
for it. Some show wonderful strength.
SAYS Mr.. Elliot: 81 saw one who came
early and took position directly at the
water-line. He fought forty or fifty
desperate battles. Covered with scars
and frightfully gashed, with one eye
out, he held his own, and lorded it over
fifteen or twenty females, huddled on
his first location around him."
Only full-grown males fight. They
approach with averted heads, make
feints and passes; their heads dart out
and back quick as a flash; they seize
with the teeth and clinch the jaws. and
only by sheer strength can they be
shaken off. Their hOarse roaring and
shrill whistle never cease, while their
bodies writhe and swell with exertion
and rage; furious lights CLEAN in their
eyes, their hair flies in the air, and their
blood streams down.
If the defender proves the weaker,
he leaves, and the conqueror takes his
place with a peculiar chuckle, and sits
down and fans himself with one of his
hind flippers. The necessity of guarding
his position keeps the male seal in the
one little spot until the breeding season
Is over; he can not eat or drink. but
absorbs his own fat, and in August