The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-23
DIFFERENTIATION OF THE SEALS.
Report of Prof Eliot on the Depopula-
tion of the Pribi1of Rookeries.

ton Of the Pribil0f ROokcries.
WASHINGTON CITY. April 2s.-At the
close of the breeding season of 1874, on the
Pribilof islands, Lieutenant Washburn
Maynard and myself found that there
were on the breeding grounds about s., 900
able-bodied bulls, 100000 females
(nubiies, primipores and multipares)
and some $1,000 young males
between and years of age. which were
continually striving to get upon the rock
cries, but were, as rule, invariably
whipped off by the older bulls, giving rise
in this effort to the most animated fight
ing and extraordinary noise throughout
the whole period of the rutting season.
At the close of the breeding season of
1890, on the Pribilof islands, after the
most careful and extended search, survey
ing every superficial foot of each one of
the fifteen different rookeries with cross
bearings from great number of measured
base lines, and giving close attention to
the relative numbers of bulls" and
COWS" found on these breeding grounds
only about ZOO old bulls, many of these
aged, infirm and actually impotent; GAO, 900
females (nubiies, primipares, ,autipares and
barren), and no young bulls around or near
the breeding grounds.
In short, since 1885, no young bull seal
has been allowed to live and grow after it
reaches the age of years, if it were posi-
bic to secure it; they have all been regu-
larly killed as they grew up. and their
skins sent to London. Therefore, these
breeding rookeries during the last six
years have not been permitted to receive
that annual supply of fresh male life,
which ~ then IL ia nnW abGolutaiu
necessary for their perpetuation and sup
port in good form and number.
In 1S72-H Lieutenant Maynard and N.Y.
self estimated the number of non-breeding
young male seals as they appeared on the
hauling grounds of the Privilof islands to
be at the lowest figure l 100, 900; of this
grand total $50. 900 were yearings, 100000
year-olds, 10000 5-year-olds, and 5000 g.
year-olds. In 1890, at the height of the
sealing season, l made another very
careful study as to this number of
. young males, and my figures will not
warrant the statement of there being more
than $4,000 young male seals left alive on
the islands at the end of the sealing seasons
of 1890 (the pups new born on the rookeries
must not be considered, and are not, in
this connection). OF this $1,000, I calculat-
ed fully 1900 to have been yearlings, or
the pups of 1889, and the balance, 10, 600,
was made up almost exclusively of small
2-year-olds, not more than thousand
3-year-olds and hundred or two Agar
olds were left alive on either island at the
close of the killing season of 1890.
What proportion of this SO, 600 will reap
pear on the seal islands next summer is
hard to say, for the reason that these
young seals will be exposed day and night
from the time that they left the islands
last October and November until they re-
appear next June and July to the deadly
attacks OF yoracious natural enemies such
as killer whales and sharks. These enc
mics are just as numerous as they ever
were, but the seals are far less so, and that
may cause, and indeed must case a
vastly greater death rate in proportion
to their number now than took place in
1874, when there was a great many more
seals. Also certain percentage of this
SO. 600 will be destroyed along the North
west coast this spring by the pelagic seal
ers: but this number of ''rising" o-year-
oIds is so small that it is safe to say that
these seals will be so widely scattered
when they return land they are now at
this writing on their way up the coast off
Vancouver and Queen Charlotte's islands
en- route for Behring sea) that l do not be-
lieve that the open water hunters can get
more than 10 per cent. of them, even if
they do as well as that; but the sharks
and killer whales will do vastly greater ex-
ecution.
IL. however, these young male seals that
live to return next summer are not driven
ARE not disturbed by drivers on the
islands-in four years. time from date
quite a large number of them will have
matured so as to be able to take up sta
tons on the rookery grounds that are to-
day vacant, and in charge of aged and i'm
potent bulls, which state of affairs, bad as
il is must get worse and worse until these
young sires arrive on the field.
Bad as the rookeries looked in 1890, they
will be worse in 1891, and worse again in
1892, and still worse in 1893; the first signs
of improvement we cannot reasonably ex-
pect before the seasons of 1855. and