File:Brehm's Life of animals - a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools (1895) (20404331842).jpg

Title: Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools
Identifier: brehmslifeofanim00breh (find matches)
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884; PechuLoesche, Eduard, 1840-1913; Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912; Schmidtlein, Richard
Subjects: Mammals; Animal behavior
Publisher: Chicago : Marquis
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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THE ORDINARY SEALS. from every portion of the animal's body. But we also value highly the sleek, beautiful, waterproof fur, and esteem the fat and even the flesh. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Seals are most eagerly hunted in all oceans. Hunt and capture are nearly synonymous in this case, for fire-arms are used but rarely and never on the high sea, for a Seal when killed goes to the bottom like a piece of 'lead. It is different in particularly favored haunts of the ani- mals on the beach. On the eastern coast of the island of Rugen there is, as Schilling says, a heap of rocks, several hundred paces distant from the extreme point of the high promontory, and at the ordinary height of the water these rocks project over three feet above sea-level. Frequently from fort)- to fifty Seals lie on them, but they are too prudent to let a boat approach them. On the Swedish coast of the Baltic the hunt is followed more regularly and frequently, usually with harpoons only, or more rarely with guns. Some Swedish hunters train Dogs to track the Seals on the ice and keep them busy until their owners arrive. On the Faroe Isles the Seals are mainly hunted dur- ing the time they spend on shore with their young. Among all peoples the Greenlanders seem to be those who not only know how to hunt Seals most successfully, but also how to put the animals to the most manifold uses. "The Greenlanders," says Fabricius, "are great masters of the art of plying their oars easily and neatly, so that one hardly hears a sound. If a Seal rises up in sight the Greenlander watches its actions, in order to proceed with his attack according to its movements. As soon as he has satisfied himself in regard to the whereabouts of
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THE SEA LEOPARD. This animal forms a distinct group ol em temperate seas, and frequents the coasts of Australia. New Zealand of twelve feet. The ground color is a silver gray, and yellowish or brow Methods of Schilling says that one may some- Hunting the times succeed in shooting Seals Seals. which are seen from a ship, if one with a little sail boat noiselessly sails up to the sleeping animals, keeping half to leeward. During a prolonged frost a hunt on the ice may also yield good results, but it is never sure to do so, and is always fraught with danger. When the Baltic is frozen over, the Seals keep artificial holes in the ice open, in order to reach the outer air, and to creep through on to the ice, where they sleep. Every Seal usually forms such an aperture for itself, and some- times has several for its own personal use. To these holes a Man creeps up at night, in felt shoes so as to deaden the noise of his steps, but he must pay careful attention to the weather and wind and be constantly on his guard. the Ordinary Sea's, and is widely distributed in the antarctic and south- ind the islands of the southern Pacific. The large males attain a length i spots are distributed over the body. (Stenorkynchus leptonyx.) the Seal, he strives with all means at command to approach it as near as possible, in order not to miss it. The point he must pay most attention to is that neither the movement of the oars nor the darting forward of the boat shall cause any great noise; for this would disturb the repose of the Seal. Not a little dexterity and practice are required for this softened movement, which is accomplished partly by long, deep strokes of the oars, partly by propell- ing the boat with movements of the hand and body, and some are such experts that they can get the boat alongside the Seal without attracting its atten- tion. But if it should happen to be one of the cau- tious kind which is always alert, the obstacles in the way are greater; yet the hunter does not give up all hope, but watches it dive and then hurries along. But if its head is above water, he keeps quiet, stoops

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