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

(bull O) had 14 cows and 2 pups. Bull N was on the outskirts and the cow formerly
high up in area 14 had gone to sea.
So far, no cows had pupped without the company of other cows. Probably I
thought, their tendency is to swell existing harems until these become too unwieldy
to be managed by a bull, when they split up into smaller groups. Certainly this bull
couldn’t much longer control 58 cows, in face of competition from other males.
The total counts for the regular beaches today were: 62 bulls, 210 cows, 19 pups;
altogether 291, an increase of 60 over yesterday.
I again set aside the paint and rod and carried on down the shore of the fjord,
still bathed in bright, warm sunshine. The seals in this area were very scattered and,
surprisingly, there was a preponderance of bulls over cows: 31 bulls to 21 cows and 2
pups. The area covered extended from area 14 to the glacier. One of the cows, which
had just pupped, was yelping in a hysterical fashion at her pup only a few feet away.
She flipped snow on her back, still yelping. When the bull rushed towards her she
made off and he followed and fell on her neck. She squirmed, appeared to realise the
futility of resistance and returned, grunting, to her yelping pup. The afterbirth I
noticed had not been ejected. The lower part of Moraine Fjord, east shore was
jammed with ice blocks, but I didn’t think this was the sole reason for the small
number of seals.
Returning in the evening with the declining sun casting long shadows, I reached
camp at 1730, washed, changed and then sat watching the sun set, while listening to
a Chopin nocturne from the BBC -it was wonderful. Then to more practical matters –
supper and writing up notes.
A windless night gave restful sleep, but in the morning it was snowing and the
wind increased to a steady blow. However, I sallied forth and it soon cleared as I
went round the western beaches, expecting to see “Stella”.
In area 14 there were still very few seals – 4 bulls only- but area 12 now had a
harem of 20 cows and 4 pups with bull A in charge. I repainted his proboscis with 2yellow-spots
– the red had faded. The two cows that had pupped recently I datepainted
yellow nose and Bull L was lurking. Bull F [red-arrow] was the harem bull of
10a, now incorporating 10b. Bull P was lurking; and later he was in the water trying
to get out opposite 10a, but bull F repulsed him with damages. I date-painted the
recently pupped cow in 10a [yellow-nose-and-head]. In area 8 harems 8a and b were
now fully combined, with bull C now in charge. This harem straggled and stretched
over 80 yards x 50 yards. I noticed that the tendency of the cows was to move to
where the concentrations of cows were. There were now 71 cows in this enormous
harem. I painted the three recently delivered cows [Yellow-nose], for date marking.
The harem occupying the former the position of 8e consisted of 13 cows and 1 pup
and I also painted this other new mother [Yellow-nose].
As I was turning away, having finished areas 7-14 I noticed what looked to be a
piece of ice moving rather quickly, but it turned out to be Arthur in the dinghy. As I
waited until he came ashore, I watched a rather bedraggled rat, nibbling at the kelp
on the shore. We hauled the boat up and then strolled to the camp with 3 cans of
petrol, 2 loaves of bread and sundry other items. Arthur acquainted me with the
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