Bisbee daily review., 1908-09-24

lands ana south Georgia They further
.olonized Tristan da Cunha in the
south Atlantic, and spread thence into
he Indian ocean, finding congenial
homes in the Crozets, Kerguelen and
Heard island. Emigrants from the Pa
:if1c coast of America in due time
strayed to the Marquesas and other
South Sea islands, and to the Mac
luarie and other islands Of New
Zealand
Then came the sealers, who, for
the sake of hides and oil, pursued
these harmless creatures during the
eighteenth and early part of the nine
teenth century with relentless energy
and diabo!ical cruelty, the details Of
which We viii spare our readers. One
after another of these numerous and
thickly-populated colonies was wiped
out, till at last but a remnant is all
that remains alive on the face of the
earth to-day. This remnant is repre-
scented by few pairs in the Antarc-
tic regions, and some half-dozen pairs,
perhaps, rear the northern extremity
Oh the range OF THIS dulndl-
The southern elephant-seals, It
should be remarked. are regarded by
naturalists as forming distinct sub
species, though hardly to be distin-
guished from the northern form
known as the California sea-elephant.
OF this northern form, as we have just
remarked, it is possible there may
be left some half-dozen pairs, the sur
vivors of a small colony which was
discovered a few months ago on the
Island of Gaudeloupe off the coast
OF California One of the collectors
of the Hon. Walter Rothschild of Eng
land, hearing of this discovery, with
commendable promptitude hurried OF
to the island to secure what will prob
ably be the last specimens available
for the purposes of scientific study.
How necessary this course of action
was may be judged from the fact that
this huge animal is totally unrepre-
scented in most Of the museums OF the
world. Until some four or five years
ago the only stuffed specimen in ex'
istence was that in the museum at
San Francisco, which was destroyed
! BY the earthquake. But Just before
| this catastrophe the Hon. Walter
Rothschild managed to secure a fine
male from the Falklands, which he
generously presented to the British
museum, together with the skeletons
of two nearly adult males.
The head of the male here repro
ducsd shows at glance the chief pc
culiarity of this now practically ex
tinct animal-to-wit, the long pendan
snout, from which the name elephant
seal is derived. This snout, or trunk
ia developed only in the bulls, and
like the sack on the head OF the hood
ed scala first cousin of the elephan
SEALS capable of being inflated Z
a considerable size during moment
of great excitement By the old seal
ers this trunk was regarded as
rare table delicacy. passing under tn
name of "snottes."
II appears to be many generation
ago since these animals contrlVed .
reach maturity, since the largest spec
mems killed during recent years ar
far below the stature attainable b
really old bulls, which measured a
much as 80 feet in length. The female
are. or were, perhaps it would 0
, more correct to say, rarely more tina
half the length of the males, and lac
the pendant sncut. Beside the full
grown elephant seal the largest Sc
lions and walruses are mere pygmie
/, As to the food of the elephant SCI
! but little is known, but 1t appears
: have consisted mainly OF cuttie-ns
: and other mollusca and seaweeo. IN
0 diet seems to have been very latte
e ing, forming layer of bluboer' una'
$ the skin. of enormous thickness.
: diet of this kind would account I
the degenerate character OF the teet
9 for, though the CANNES were large u
: rest of the teeth were mere pes
: barely cutting the gums