Seals, however, cannot do this. Their hind limbs, so wonderful in the
water, are merely dragged behind the body on land. "Sealskin" should be
called "Sea-lion-skin," to be exact; for it is the Sea-lions, not the
true Seals, which men kill and rob of their lovely warm coats.

The giant of the Seal family is the Sea-elephant; a big lumbering
fellow, with a most peculiar nose. Of course this gives him his name,
though it is not much like the trunk of the real elephant. It is just
the baggy skin of his nose, a foot long, which hangs down past his
mouth.

When the Sea-elephant is angry or excited, this loose nose of his
becomes filled with air, and bulges out. Our coloured picture shows you
Mr. Sea-elephant, full grown; his wife and children have ordinary seal
noses. Perhaps we should say wives, not wife, for he has many.

[Illustration: A COMMON SEAL]

The Sea-elephants go to wild, lonely islands, and there make their
nurseries. Year after year tens of thousands of the big Seals gather,
to fight and to rear their young. The clumsy great father Sea-elephants
fight terrible battles; and at this time always seem to be in a very bad
temper, tearing each other with their tusk-like teeth. Their roaring can
be heard far out at sea; but the lady Seals take no part in these
combats.

We have no room in this lesson to look at all the other kinds of Seals,
Sea-lions, Sea-bears and Walrus. As we have already noticed, the
sealskin sold in shops is really the skin of a Sea-lion. Sometimes these
are called _Eared Seals_, for they possess little ears, while the real