The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-02-18
MOTHER SEALS AND THEIR BABIES.

ia - ~ : - - ~ M q
Taking a Swimming Observation-Disclosures
acing Afeetion-Touching!G Grief.
A Newfoundland law forbids sailing
vessels to depart for the seal hunt before
the 1st of March, and the steamers are
not allowed to leave until the 10th of that
month. This handicap acts as q protec-
ton to the vessels which are dependent
upon the wind alone. The vessels arrive
when the baby seals, or "wkite-coats,"
are three or four weeks old, still depend
ent upon their mothers for subsistence,
and unable to escape from the hunters.
Their bodies are covered with very
thick layer of fat, and they are far pre-
ferable, for this reason, to the older seals.
When the baby is six weeks old it drops
its yellowish white coat, and becomes
ragged coat" and at this stage they be-
gin to dip" or take to the water. 1t ID
very amusing to watch mother seal Try
ing to teach a young one to swim prop
erly. Just as the eagle stirs up her
young and encourages them to use their
wings, so the mother seals tumble the
babies into the water and give them
swimming lessons.
The old seal pushes the little one along
toward the edge Of the ice, the baby all
the while whimpering and sobbing and
vainly trying to resist the steady pressure
from behind. When at last it,falls into
the water it sobs SO piteously that even
the mother is ashamed Of herself and
helps her dear offspring back upon the ice.
Every few hours this is repeated, and
soon the young can swim and dive, and
then tho vast nursery disappears. When
they are in danger from rafting ice or
fragments of foes dashed about by the
wind and likely to crush them, the self
sacrificing affection Of the mothers leads
them to brave all dangers, and they are
seen helping their young to places OF
safety in the unbroken ice, somstines
clasping them in their fore fiippers and
swimming with them, or pushing them
forward with their noses.
The material instinct appears to be pc.
cuiarly strong in the female seal, ana
the tenderness with which the mothera
watch their offspring is most touching.
When the young seals are Graded on the
ice the mothers remain in the neighbor'
hood, going off each morning to fish, and
returning at intervals to give them suck.
It is an extraordinary fact the old seals
manage to keep holes in the ice open
and prevent them freezing over. On re-
turning from fishing excursion extend
ing over fifty OF a hundred miles, each
mother seal manages to find the hole
by which she took her departure, AM to
discover her own snow-white cub, VI i
she proceeds to fondle and suckle. Tiiis
is certainly one of. the most remarkable
achievements Of animal instinct. The
young awhite-coats" are scattered In
myriads over the ice feld. During the
absence of the mother the ice field has
shifted in position, perhaps many miles
being borne on the current. Yet each
mother seal is able to pick out her own
hole and to pick out her own cub from
the immense herd with unerring accu-
racy. It is quite touching to witness their
signs of distress and grief when they re-
turn to find only pool Of blood and a
skinless carcass instead of their whim-
pering little ones.-New York Sun.