Buffon's Natural History. Volume 09 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 09 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
By comparing other observations and accounts, and from the conclusions
which may be drawn from them, the sea-lion of South America, appears
to be nearly the same animal as that found on the northern coasts of
the same continent. The large seal of Canada, spoken of by Denis, by
the name of the sea-wolf, and which he distinguishes from the common
seals, may possibly be of the same species as these sea-lions. "Their
young, says this author, are bigger and longer at their birth than
our largest hogs." Now it is certain that our seals are never of that
size, even when full-grown. The Mediterranean seal, or the _phoca_ of
the ancients, is still less; therefore there only remains the seal Mr.
Parsons has described, which agrees with that mentioned by Denis. Mr.
Parsons does not say whence this great seal was brought: but whether it
came from the north of Europe, or from America, it might be the same
as the sea-wolf of Denis, or the sea-lion of Anson, for it appears to
be of the same size, since though not nearly full-grown it measured
seven feet in length. Besides the size, there is the most apparent
difference between the sea-lion and the seal, namely, the male of the
first has a large crest on its upper jaw. Now Mr. Parsons did not see
the male; he only described the female, which had no crest, and which
perfectly resembled the female sea-lion, mentioned by Anson. To these
similarities Parsons adds another still more precise; he says, that the
great seal which he saw had a stomach and intestines like those of a
cow; and the sea-lion also mentioned in Anson's Voyages, is described
as an animal which feeds on grass during the whole summer. Hence it is
very probable that these two animals are formed alike, or rather they
are the same animals, and very different from other seals, who have but
one stomach, and which live entirely upon fish.
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