316
to satisfy him temporarily, so he works his body on to some projecting angle of
the rock, and rises as high as he can on. the fore-flippers, and sometimes with
the whole of the front part of the body raised like a dog begging. In this
position, with strained neck, he glances quickly about, repeating the movement
every few seconds in absolute silence. If you watch his eye very carefully now,
you will see that it gradually loses some of its watchfulness, and a dreamy and
less restless look pervades the countenance: he is beginning to get sleepy and to
settle down to rest. As the coat dries he becomes ticklish, and you see him
working his hind-flippers from side to side, and then rubbing and wriggling his
whole body on the rocks. As he becomes more and more inclined to settle he
assumes a variety of curious attitudes, scratching his sides with the fore-flippers,
combing the hind ones, rolling, stretching, yawning, until he succumbs at last to
the soothing effects of the peaceful surroundings and the murmurs of the sea.
Gradually he sinks into a semi-soporific state, though waking now and again to
take a look round or lollop a few yards. He may go a little further up the
rocks as the tide pushes him upwards, for he is now thoroughly lazy, and
disinclined to get wet, yet rarely do these old fellows go so fast asleep as the
females and young. If the Seal feels that sleep is getting the better of him, he
is apt to wake up with a self-conscious start, as becomes one upon whom the
safety of a community depends.
It may be said that the longer Seals have been up on the rocks the easier
they are to approach, for they cordially dislike taking to water again, even when
the tide reaches them and floats them away. The accompanying sketch of a Seal
waiting till the sea covered him was drawn from nature in Balranald Bay. I had
been watching six old males lying on a small rock all the morning, until the sea
came up and floated them off one by one, all but an old fellow on the top of
the rock. He evidently enjoyed his siesta so much that even when the water
reached his body he held his head, one fore-flipper, and the hind-flippers out of
the water, to keep them dry until the very last moment.
Observers of the habits of the Common Seal are somewhat at variance as
to whether the animals are in the habit of placing sentinels or not when lying
up. Most certainly I have many times seen a Seal acting as a look-out, while
at others no guard seems to be kept. I think it is a matter of circumstance,
for where Seals are subject to frequent disturbance they find the necessity of
keeping a close guard, and accordingly one of their number acts as a watcher.
This Seal may be noticed lying high on the summit of the rock, and frequently