Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-11-15
CHANNEL ISLAND
A REAL M[NAGER|E
WILD ANIMALS PROTECTED UN-
TIL THEY BECOME TAME.
SEA LIONS ESPECIALLY so
Feed on Refuse Thrown in Bay by
Fishermen Thus Performing San
itary Work-Eat from Workmen's
Hands-Southern California Ideal
Home for Animals.

That wild animals become extreme
! ly tame is well known The wild
| quail of Southern California will enter
gardens and nest there and in the
| protected seasons | have seen
flock stand in country road, a
| jaunty male between them, and my
horse not 20 feet away, moving only
when | moved and then with reluc-
| lance, says writer in the Scientific
American.
Several years ago some residents
on one of the channel islands of
! southern California introduced
number of black-tailed deer, which
| were protected to such an extent that
in time they discovered that they
were privileged characters and as
sumed nearly the absolute contempt
| for human beings held by the sacred
bulls of India that crowd men and
women from the road. They persisted
/ in entering gardens day and night,
destroying the plants, and finally to
| locate them the dwellers on the is.
land had bells fastened to them.
One buck made his home near the
town of Cabrillo and walked about
the place and over the hills with the
| freedom of a dog. When a boat
landed off the pier the buck ran down
to greet the newcomers and share
their lunch and became a welcome
| guest at barbecues and lobster and
clam bakes.
Nearly all animal life is protected
at this island / have counted half
/ a hundred bald eagles in an eleven
mile run. have seen them take a large
fish from the water within easy gun
shot and they build their nests on
pinnacles that are not difficult to ap-
/ proach. The sea bids are equally
tame Gulls gather in fiocks few
feet from those who feed them. In
the winter flocks of cormorants swim
i into the bays and are so tame that
they merely divide when boat pass.
es and fishermen often find that the
cormorants take off bait almost as
fast as they can put it on. Gulls
dash at bait and | have seen long
winged bird resembling the petrol
follow my line under water at cast.
using its wings to fly along and take
the bait and at times scores of sea
birds are seen inshore feeding upon
small shrimps, paying no attention to
observers photographing them
The most remarkable illustration of
; tameness to be seen here is that of
the sea lions. For ages the animals
have held possession of a mass of
rocks on the shore of the islands. A
few years ago many were killed by
vandals, but laws were passed and
for a number of years the sea lions
have been protected and the rookery
has increased in size until split has
recently occurred and another set
tlament has been established half
way up the island.
. 1t has been the custom for years
for fisherman in cleaning their fish
to toss the refuse into the bay and
the sea lions formed the habit of
coming down to the bay at this time
to dine thereupon At first only one
, or two came; now band of two
large bulls and several females make
their headquarters at the bay to
spend most of their time there, con.
shutting a valuable sanitary corps,
as they eat every fragment of fish,
the gulls joining in the feast When
not feeding the sea lions pass the
time lying within few feet of the
beach, sleeping or playing. the fe-
males and young leaping from the
water and going through various
tricks of interest to the looker-on.
But few feet away from the sea
lions are the boat stands of the
fishermen and boatmen and boats are
moving out and over the sea lions
constantly, yet they are apparently
obliyious to the men, who never mo-
lest them. This has had a peculiar
result The enormous animals have
become so tame that they almost
allow the men to touch them and
readily come out upon the shore to
feed from their hands. Ii so hap
pened that l was upon the sands
when no sea lions We're in sight and
upon asking a boatman where they
were he began to whistle as though
calling for dog and to CALL Here,
Ben" repeating the call several
times, hereupon out from among the
anchored boats appeared not only
Ben but two large bull sea lions.
which must have weighed half ton
Mr.. Hawthorns,s Troqlodytes.