Among themselves the males are fierce fighters.
"The true Seals are short-necked, thick-bodied, and have rather
round heads with no visible ears. The Walrus and Sea Lions can
turn their hind flippers forward to use as feet on land, but this
the true Seals cannot do. Therefore they are more clumsy out of
water. Their front flippers are covered with hair.
"The one best known is the Harbor or Leopard Seal. It is found
along both coasts, often swimming far up big rivers. It is one
of the smallest members of the family. Sometimes it is yellowish-
gray spotted with black and sometimes dark brown with light spots.
"The Ringed Seal is about the same size or a little smaller than
the Harbor Seal and is found as far north as it can find breathing
holes in the ice. You know all these animals breathe air just as
land animals do. This Seal looks much like the Harbor Seal, but
is a little more slender.
"Another member of the family is the Harp, Saddle-back or Greenland
Seal. He is larger than the other two and has a black head and gray
body with a large black ring on the back. The female is not so
handsome, being merely spotted.
"The handsomest Seal is the Ribbon Seal. He is about the size of
his cousin the Harbor Seal. He is also called the Harlequin Seal.
Sometimes his coat is blackish-brown and sometimes yellowish-gray,
but always he has a band of yellowish-white, like a broad ribbon,
from his throat around over the top of his head, and another band
which starts on his chest and goes over his shoulder, curves down
and finally goes around his body not far above the hind flippers.
Pages:
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304