The food of the Ringed Seal is said to consist largely of crustaceans, but
during the winter it lives much on fish.
. Some trade is occasionally done in the skins of these Seals, of which Dr.
Rink calculates at least 51,000 are annually captured; but the skins are not so
highly thought of by the Eskimos as those of the Common Seal, although these
people generally use them fo f clothing. Were it not for the Ringed Seal the
Eskimo would starve in the winter, for they are a happy but improvident people
who only take what the Almighty sends them directly, and will m# hoard up for
a rainy day. So the Netsik which remains all the winter is as cmee their food
Those who would further study the history and habits of $**3» Seal will find
an excellent'account taken from various sources in Mr. Allen > Monograph of
North American Pinnipeds.'
T h e H a r p o r G r e e n l a n d S e a l
Pkoca grcenlandica, Fabrlcius.
Pkoca gromlandica, Fabr. in Muller’s * Z00L Dan. Prod.’ p.
Local Names.— ftv r p Sets/-,. Greenland Seal, Saddleback, is (young), Sadler,
■wt Turning Harp* Bedlamers, Bed-
. Cr&nlandsal, HarpsaHl, 0 (Swedish); Vadeselur
Smkund (German); Phoque
d croissant (French); Kiölak (Eskimo, Greenland); m m &k (Eskimo, Labrador)
Characters. A d u lt Male.__The gene e Harp Seal is yellowish
white;- The nos e and front part of the and below the eyes are
and sometimes heavily
c k . A black band rants f rs downwards and along
each flank towards the tail, where if a nearly meets over the
>. It. jsnot surprisin r to a number of local namuM^ alB is 'stages in the life of the Greenland
Seal, used by people so thoroughly acquainted with du» as* st Eskimo. Fabricius says that the
young are at first called Aiarak; later in the same summer. ad after the first moult, and during its first winter it is Atailstale
The second year t is Utok&itsiak; the third year , 1 or Agkktungoak, and n the third winter Aglehtytsiak. The
first year it keeps the sacne name, Agletok, as well as taking a ew one, Aglektorsoak; but after the fourth moult it takes the
name of Mitlaktok, whec it is considered adult.' Still later it is
THE HARP SEAL.