frequented by Seals in the breeding season. We must therefore conclude that the
Common Seal is for the most part migratory on the east coast of Scotland, and
the same also applies to the east coast of England.
Save on the Tay, where Seals are such a nuisance that the syndicate interested
in the salmon fishing is obliged to keep a man constantly shooting them, but
few Seals are killed on the east coast of either England or Scotland. When
fishing, a Seal is rather wary, and when lying up on the sandbanks it generally
has an excellent view for a mile or two round, and consequently no man with a
rifle can approach it without being seen. Although Seals constantly get entangled
in the stake salmon nets, so bold and clever is the Common Seal that it is but
rarely taken in this manner, for its strength is great and it can both smash and
bite through the meshes of the net when entangled.
About the end of August, just as the old males (which may often be seen
in a herd apart at this season) are changing or have changed their old ragged
yellow or brown coats for the new winter dress, they begin to fight. I have seen
them spar on shore and cut at each other with their fore-flippers, but as a rule they
fight in the water, seizing each other like dogs, generally by the neck, and scoring
one another with their strong fore-paws till open wounds six or eight inches
long are made. They fight both on the surface and below the water, and often
leap into the air to avoid each other. I once observed two old males, one of
which I afterwards shot, having a desperate conflict in Balranald Bay. It was a
perfectly still sunny day, and six of the eleven males that frequented this bay had
already ‘ gone up ’ and were beginning to enjoy their siesta, when two others came
from opposite directions and began coasting up and down in the usual fashion,
preparatory to hauling up. Suddenly one of the males rushed at the other and
seized him by the scruff of the neck. The next moment both rolled over together
and sank, only to reappear a few yards away, biting and wrestling in the water
which they churned into foam. First one seemed to have the best of it, and then
the other, till finally one of the combatants made a bolt and cleared out of the
bay, leaping at intervals right out of the water as his enemy approached. The
other, however, returned, and presently flopping ashore lay up quite amicably with
the other old males.
Generally speaking the sexes remain in separate herds from May to September;
but with regard to Common Seals, what is true of one district does not
always apply to another. In the Orkneys and Shetlands especially, I have seen
the sexes mixing indiscriminately all through August and September. Although