Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

left their pups. I saw no pups being suckled. There was one new pup in harem 8a
and from the behaviour of the cow and the condition of the afterbirth I thought
parturition had occurred about 1300. I painted her with yellow-O on the rump. Bull F
was now south of harem 8a.
• There were two harems in area 10. The largest, harem 10a, with 8 cows, was in
charge of bull G, [whom I repainted with a yellow-nose since the red had become
indistinct]. The bull with harem 10b was bull K. In harem 12a two bulls, M and N
were amongst the cows. They; no doubt they would reach a settlement soon.
I returned to camp and dug out both tents, building a snow block wall on the
south side, which gave additional protection. It was a lovely evening, with
magnificent cloud effects. All was now peaceful and still, the sea was a bright lime
green and sky of turquoise. Hills across the fjord were lit up by sunlight and
streamers of cloud were golden in the sun. Over Grytviken though, it was gloomy
and there were snow squalls; I noted that “Harpon” had left.
Very heavy winds again during the night died down and I left to do a count in
the morning. In areas 2 to 5 the sexes were in general separate and not yet formed
into harems. In Area 1 two groups of 3 and 5 cows lay beside the stream, without
bulls. Harem 1a, the bull J, had 41 cows, including a group of 3 cows and a male on
the outskirts. Harem 1b was about 20 yards south. One of two new pups in 1a lay
beside the bull, but I was unable to decide on its mother; the other was with its
mother, which I marked red-nose. In area 6 there were three harems. Bull A, which
was formerly with harem 1a now held 6a, with only 12 cows. The other two harems
contained only 2 and 3 cows respectively.
Having finished the regular count I left the paint and rod to be collected on my
return and went on to examine the coast, as far as the ice cliffs of the Nordenskjold
Glacier. It was a glorious day – the sun reflecting sparks from the sea and from the
ice girding the shore. Unfortunately the peaks behind the immense glacier were
hidden by cloud. Near the glacier front I found six fairly recent carcasses of bulls left
by the sealers.
South of area 1 there were 21 bulls, 75 cows and 8 pups, mainly in three harems.
This area was not chosen for detailed regular observations, and I toyed with the idea
of crossing over the headland to work on the Moraine Fjord shore, but instead, under
a broiling sun, returned to camp for lunch. Away from the shelter of the ridge, the
wind was still blowing, but it died down and when I reached camp it was more or
less calm. I had copious drafts of snow water and some apricots and cream, as well as
more sustaining food for lunch. Then I discovered that an improvised ski binding
was on its last threads, so had to repair it. However, by 2.30pm I was able to get
away again and visited the western beaches lining Moraine Fjord. There were several
cows on the northern beach too.
In area 8 bull C had a phenomenal 58 cows in harem 8a, which now included
part of 8b. Harem 8d had increased to 12; there were 10 pups and I date-marked the
two new cows red-nose, judging both to have pupped within the previous 2 hours.
Some of the cows were extremely large and one I almost took for a bull! Bull F had
taken over harems 10a and b and K lay close by. In area 12, bull red-neck-yellow-nose
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