Page:Transactions NZ Institute Volume 15.djvu/596

492 I did not see any nests of the ordinary white gull, which is also common on the shore.

The sealers told me that teal were occasionally seen on some of the little lakes among the hills. I did not, however, see any.

I was also informed that an albatross nest was once found on the high land towards the south end of the island. This was some years ago, and none had been observed since then.

There are no land mammals peculiar to the island, but the ubiquitous rabbit was introduced a few years ago, and now swarms at the north end, where it feeds largely on the thick fleshy roots of the Pleurophyllum. Very few rabbits were originally landed, and these, I was told, were all of the tame parti-coloured kind. It was curious to observe how their descendants, in the process of reverting to the wild, type, had all become one-coloured—black, or white with pink eyes, or yellow—while many had become regular wild rabbits in colour as well as habits.

Morunga elephantina, "Sea Elephant."—This is the largest of the seals, and receives its name of "elephant" from the curious manner in which it elongates its nose when excited or angry. It is regularly hunted for its blubber, which forms a thick layer underneath the skin. Macquarie Island is the only place near New Zealand where these elephants are found, but they are common on the shores of Kerguelen Land and the neighbouring islands, and occur even as far north as Juan Fernandez.

I judged some of the larger males I saw to be over 20 feet long. The females, however, are very much smaller. They are thick in proportion and are huge unwieldy creatures.

The usual colour is a yellowish-brown, some, however, are redder in colour. The young ones are almost black. For about one week after their birth they retain a beautifully soft furry coat, also black in colour.

The main peculiarity of these creatures is the mobility of the nose. This, when the animal is asleep or undisturbed, presents no peculiarity. Irritate him, however, or see him naturally excited, and you will soon see the curious change which rage produces in his face. He invariably, however young, rears himself, sometimes at both ends, and opens his mouth to its fullest extent, showing all his teeth and uttering a peculiar barking roar. At the same time the nose in the adult males undergoes its peculiar change. It is, partly by air being blown forcibly into its elastic-sided cavity and to a certain extent by muscular contraction, puffed out in great sacs above the animal's head. It elongates as well as swells, and hangs down as a trunk for some inches in front of its mouth. None of the plates of sea-elephants which I have seen, represent this nasal swelling at all as it is. I was fortunate enough to see two large animals thoroughly angry.