Translation 2783

the Caspian
112
have long, soft hair of .a light greenish-yellow
colour: After five or six days the yellowish tint disappears and
'the fur acquires a Whito colour .with a barely-noticeable •creamytinge.
i.à)ulting of the embryonic coat begins when the pups are two weeks
old. The moult lasts for about three Weeks..
The lactation period lasts for about three weeks; tne females
usually give•up suckling -
their pups when the latter complete the
moult of their embryonic coat. .Suckling has been observed both by
day-and by nicht.
As a result of frequent and plentLful feeding the
pups grow rapidly. Dy the end of the lactation period they are 85 cm .
long and weigh 14.5 kg, their body length having increased by approx,. .
imately 20;i; and their weight having tripled.
The subcutanecius fat
layer is practically absent in new-born pupe; the average weight of.
their hides with fat attached is about 2.5 kg, increasing .te 5.0 kg
in .a moulting whitecoat and to 12 kg after the moultis completed.
During the lactation period the females climb out on the ice
only.periodically to feed the pups, spending all the rest of the
daylight hours in the water.
Thus there is only a relatively-small
number of females on the ice at one time, which makes it difficult
to carry out an aerial censuG of the seals in the pupping rookeries.
.At the end of the lactation period (in late February Or early
March) the females leave the pups, which then change over to an independent
mode of life. • Tile time when the pups take to the water
depends nàt only on the moult of their embryonic coats but also on
the extent of break-up of the ice and on the air temperature.
In years Of normal ice conditions most of the young seals
finally•leave the ice in the first half of :.larch.
Vith the approach of the mating period tne males•begin active
invasion of the pupping territory, ad at the beginning of th'e second .
ten days of February and especially at the end of that month fibhts
between Males and.pursuit of females are observed. .2he seals divide
up into -pairs, which are to be oeen.both on the ice and in the water.
In the majority of the sesls the rut ceases L'y t e end of the firut
ton days of larch. GesLation lasts for about 11 monLh13. he fomàies
first begin to reproduce ai 1 - 0 al:,e
of five yehrs, but the majority
of theliro mot'yt active in lia Ling and produclin youn when they are six
or i:even years •I:he males become se:mally mature at the :Igo of
SIX or seven years.
•
•