The Washington herald., 1911-07-09


gious speed their pool at the Bureau O
Fisheries-now leaping from the turbulen
waters, and now tussling on the pro
truding rocks at the center of the tank
Atgsh and Ennatha, the two fur-sea
pets of the aquaria, are gazed upor
daily by throngs of interested spectators
But the visitors merely enjoy the frolic.
some antics OF these playful aquatic
mammals, as they dive, and leap, and
wrestle, while the offlciaIs Of the bureau
are in ecstasy over the fact that the oc-
cupants of the tank are the first fur
seals ever successfully kept in captivity,
and that they are fourishing under the
unnatural conditions to which they are
now subjected.
Atgah and Ennatha are extremely hap
py in their present surroundings. or their
looks are very deceiv1ng. They are
seldom at rest, nearly always romping
in the water or cIambering over the
rocks. They seem to have an express
sion Of real joy upon their faces. It is
only occasionally in the hotter part Of the
day and at night that the two seals can
be seen placidly resting on the surface
of the water with one of the fore flip
pers clasped in the two hind fiippers, and
with the free fore fiipper Ieisurely NOV
ing back and forth to keep the body
afloat.
Seals Appear Pleased.
Some persons may think that it is
cruel to confine these ANIMALS to the
small tank in which they are kept, but
fhe seals fbap,saIvas .1,a,- a. =. a.
lighted with the arrangement. seeming
to realize that their present home is a
paradise to the rocky shores of the
Pribilof Islands, where innumerable dan
gers constantly beset their species. For
the life of the young seal is a precarious
one, and it is not improbable that If
Atgah and Ennatha had remained on
their rookery in Bering Sea, they would
now be numbered among the three and
four thousand pups that yearly die from
starvation, natural enemies, and disease
But Atgah and Ennatha know little of
the hardships in their native waters. for
they were captured and brought to Wash
lngton when mere pups. They came from
one of the large rookeries of the great
est sealing grounds in the world
The seal was formerly a widely cis-
tributed animal, and long ago there were
many rookeTies in antarctic waters and
on the shores Of South Africa, Australia,
and New Zealand. But these have oeen
almost entirely exhausted now through
indiscriminate sealing, and the only large
rcokeries left are those of the North
Pacific on the Pribilof Islands in Beriag
Sea. This group consists of only two
large islands, st. Paul and st. George,
which are about forty miles apart, the
former containing forty-three square
miles and the latter having an area of
s5:9 square miles. These islands are en-
Eirely isolated, the nearest point on the
mainland of Alaska, Cape Newenham,
being 800 miles distant.
Return in the Spring.
Here the great seal herds make their
homes from June until late in the fall,
when they migrate southeastward into
the Pacific Ocean along the American
coast, but always returning with unfail-
ing accuracy and persistency to their old
places in the spring Atgah and |
were born in the month of July, |
1909 at the Gorbatch rookery on ST. Paul |
Island, but little do they remember Of 4 3
seas, its massive coast-strewn powders, |
and its jagged inlets bordered by the long
beaches of sand, with the shifting dunes |
behind them.
The pets of the Fisheries Bureau know
nothing Of how their fathers landed on |
the island in June of the year of their |
birth, and fought with the other male |
seals for the possession of their old |
breeding grounds; and how later their |
mothers came ashore after the tumuit |
had subsided. Little would the young |
baby pups have to fear, If the sealing |
we're all carried on legally under govern
nent supervision, for the government |
has made q study of the conditions, and /
Knows how to secure the skins without
depicting to a dangerous extent the seal /
nerds.
The seal is polygamous, and one male Is
mated with from thirty to fifty
Ind, in some cases, 100, females. Conse-
Iuently, there is always a surplus Of
male seals. These bachelors herd them
selves on what are termed hauling
grounds" near by the rookeries. When
he time comes for the securing Of the
;kins, the bachelors are surrounded,
iriven inland, killed, and skinned by the
who are employed by the gov
and after being cured in the
ALT houses on the island, are sent to
london, the worlds greatest sealskin
market. The law prevents the killing
Il females and males under one year old
rhe government usually selects males be-
ween two and three years of age for
iilling. No skins weighing less than