The Washington herald., 1911-07-09
FISHERIES BUREAU HAS.
FUN WITH FUR SEALS

I I'VE or more than eight and hal
pounds are allowed to be shipped.
Fate Would BE Tragic.
If these were the only methods uset
the fate of the fur seal would not be 81
tragic. But, alas, the pirate of the higf
seas, who was once the foe OF all sea
men. now scours the waters for the val
liable seals His methods are known a.
peIagic seaIing-the killing OF seals il
the open sea This is the practice thai
is rapidly bringing about the extermina.
ton of the North Pacific seals, as 1t has
already done with the antarctic ones
This method of obtaining furs originated
about 1880, and since then has been pur.
sued mostly by vessels from British Co
lumbia and Japan. The vessels from
British Columbia are now. decreasing ir
number, while the number from the latter
country are constantly increasing.
In pelagicf sealing, as the seal is in the
water, no selection can be made, ever
if the pirates desired. and the defenseless
creature is shot or speared, regardless
of age or sex-young and old, males and
females. alike, fall under the hands OF
these outlaws. It is found. however, that
most of the seals killed are females
which had gone out to sea to secure food
for their young. These females some
times travel as far as 200 miles from
the rookeries, but always return to nurse
their pups at more or less regular inter-
walls. When one Of these females is
killed it means that helpless pup is left
alone on the island to starve. In 1905
there were thirty-eight japanese vessels
engaged in pelagic sealing, and during
the year they took 13,l97 skins. which re-
suited in the death of thousands Of starv-
ing pups at the rookeries.
Prey for the Pirates.
1t is not unlikely that the parents Of
Atgah and Ennatha are among the vast
number that yearly fall prey to these
pirates, and the two thriving pets would
now probably be dead II Mr.. Judson
Thurber, the boatswain of the revenue
cutter Bear, had not become intensely
interested in demonstrating young seals.
In the early part of 1903 DR.. Fox, surgeon
of the Bear, secured a pup to expert
ment upon for medical purposes, and
after he was through with 1t he turned
the baby over to Mr.. Thurber. The boat
swain fed it, but the seal died in about
three weeks in commissions, Mr.. Thurber
was not discouraged. however, and on
October 9, 1909. Atgah and Ennatha were
secured and presented to him to con-
tinue his experiments. The experimenter
with difficulty forced the pups to swallow
condensed milk, and after a while he
began forcing solid food down their
throats.
It was found that the difficulty in feed
ing the seals lay in the tongue being
bound to the floor of. the mouth by a
technically known as the fire.
mum. This was torn loose by Mr.. Thur
Der, and Immediately the process of feed
ing was carried on with much greater
ease and success. Upon the arrival of
the Bear at San Diego, Cal, the seals
were sent to the Bureau of Fisheries at
where they were put in fresh
water as an experiment
Atgah and Ennatha showed no distaste
for the change from salt water, and
have thrived in the Potomac fluid ever
since. The experiments have been in
every way successful. The seals have en-
iured a maximum water temperature of
3 degrees, which is very much warmer
than they ever encounter in the waters
Of their native habitat, and have Jared
none the worse from their experience.
AS a result of the experiments, it is
now believed by some of the seal experts
hat fur-seal colonies can be established
in fresh water lakes in various parts of
the world. Lakes would have to be Sc
ected with an adequate supply of fish
and with a Temperature high enough to
prevent the water entirely freezing over
n winter. II colony could be estab-
ished on the North Atlantic coast, prefer !
IDLY on the eastern coast of Canada, the |
question of pelagic sealing could be easily |
settled by international agreements be-
ween England and the United States and
he conservation Of the now rapidly dis |
appearing seal would be insured.
r ". B.