Hair seal or harbor seal
_Halicyon richardii_ Gray, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. London, p. 28, 1864.
_Phoca richardii_ Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 16:491,
December 12, 1902.
_Phoca richardii richardii_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
128:164, April 29, 1924.
_Phoca vitulina richardii_ Doutt, Ann. Carnegie Mus., 29:117, May
12, 1942.
_Type._--Described from a specimen obtained at the Fraser River,
British Columbia, probably on March 23, 1861, by C. B. Wood and
another obtained by Wood at Queen Charlotte Sound, British
Columbia, in 1862 (see Scheffer and Slipp, 1944: 374); type in
British Museum of Natural History.
_Distribution._--Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan De Fuca and the
coast of Washington, extending at times up the Columbia River to
The Dalles. Has been recorded in Lake Washington, Seattle (Bonham,
1942: 76).
_Description._--Adults are about 5 feet in length and weigh up to 250
pounds; males are approximately a quarter larger than females. The hair
seals differ from the sea lions and fur seals in a number of respects.
The body is widest in the midsection rather than in the chest. The neck
is short and slim. The eyes are large and there are no external ears.
The hind flippers are not reversible but are permanently directed
posteriorly. The pelage is short, stiff, and directed posteriorly. The
ground color is silver gray or yellow; usually it is yellow, blotched
and marbled with black, dusky or gray.
Hair seals range over the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
occurring southward along the Pacific Coast of North America to central
Mexico. Six races are recognized by Doutt (1942: 115).
The hair seal is the common seal in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan De
Fuca and on the ocean coast. Scheffer and Slipp (1944: 373) estimate
that 5,000 live along the coast of Washington. Hair seals are social to
some degree but are often seen singly. In Puget Sound, where there are
relatively few hauling-out areas, they rarely leave the water but on the
ocean coast they emerge to bask on the reefs. On Destruction Island,
Jefferson County, V. B. Scheffer and I watched a herd of about 20
animals that lay on a reef exposed by low tide. According to the
lighthouse keeper the reef was occupied daily by these seals. Scheffer
and Slipp (_loc. cit._, p. 388) report herds of up to 200 hair seals. In
Puget Sound 10 to 20 seals seem to be the usual number in a herd, but
occasionally there are as many as 50.
Hair seals often exhibit curiosity concerning small boats; the seals lie
in the water with only their round heads above the surface, staring at
the boat for many minutes. Constant shooting has made them shy and any
quick movement will cause them to dive; several dived instantly when I
pointed either a stick or gun at them.
Hair seals are less spectacular than sea lions. When basking on rocks
the seals are silent. When an observer is yet a long distance away the
seals raise their small heads and remain on the alert. When they take to
the water, they travel with a jerking motion. In the water one rarely
sees more than their heads. When they dive they usually sink below the
surface, never making the spectacular arching dive so typical of the sea
lions.
At Useless Bay, Whidby Island, Island County, a herd of five or six hair
seals was studied in July, 1936. These animals played and slept in the
shallow water beneath a high, forested bluff and could be watched from
the bluff above. The seals seemed to gather here in the early afternoon.
Much of their time was spent sleeping on the surface with the body in a
bowed position and drifting freely. Occasional waving of the rear
flippers kept them from drifting away. They played a great deal,
splashing, diving and swimming in circles or spirals. Occasionally one
would dive down to swim slowly along just above the bottom. At times one
would put on a sudden burst of speed, apparently in pursuit of some
fish, rarely continued for more than 30 or 40 feet after which the seal
usually rose to the surface to resume play. Never did I see one with a
fish in its mouth and these pursuits, if pursuits they were, seemed to
have been prompted more by a spirit of play than by hunger.
A young seal was kept as a pet for several weeks at Friday Harbor, San
Juan County. It was tame and affectionate but decidedly temperamental.
It demanded constant attention and whimpered, cried or moaned if left
alone. It was more active by night than by day and made a characteristic
mooing cry, which continued at intervals throughout the night. This
habit led to its eventual disposal. The temper of this young seal was
shown by its actions when it encountered strands of kelp while swimming.
If the kelp strands held back its progress it would turn back, seize the
kelp in its teeth and bite viciously. Never did it attempt to bite
persons.
The hair seal was generally thought to feed almost exclusively on
salmon, but the work of Scheffer (1928: 10-16) showed this view to be
incorrect. Of 14 hair seal stomachs examined, all of which were full,
only two contained salmon. In a later study (Scheffer and Sperry, 1931:
214-226), only two of 100 stomachs examined contained salmon. Other food
items were tomcod, flounder, sculpin, herring, shiner, hake, skate,
blenny, unidentified fish, squid, octopus, shrimp, crab and starfish. In
spite of Scheffer's work, hair seals are killed at every opportunity by
fisherman and boatman. Bounties were paid on their scalps for many
years, and more than 1,000 bounties were paid for each of several years
previous to 1930. Their small, round heads bobbing on the waves offer a
poor target and many seals, after having been fired at, become extremely
shy. They seem to be holding their own in numbers at the present time.
Scheffer and Slipp (1944: 401) found that the young were born in late
May along the ocean coast and in June and July in Puget Sound. The young
seal mentioned as having been kept captive at Friday Harbor was obtained
from an Indian on July 26, 1938, and was said to be two weeks old at the
time. The Indian said that he had watched the birth of the young and
then killed the mother for bounty. On July 28 the young seal weighed
approximately 20 pounds and was in good health. The seal could swim
well. It was said to have been born "on the rocks" at Long Island, San
Juan County. The seal drank milk from a baby's bottle but refused fresh
scallops, clams and fish of several species. When put into a large,
screened box sunk in the water it at once investigated the other animals
in the box. It showed no fear of a large bull cod weighing 50 pounds, or
of a 20-pound skate and several sharks 5 feet long but seemed to be
frightened by a large octopus weighing about 30 pounds. In swimming, the
front flippers were held flat against the body and the actual swimming
was accomplished by the vertically-held rear flippers and the rapid
swinging of the hips. Its eyes were very dark brown, almost black, but
soft and appealing. The bases of the vibrissae were thick and soft. The
belly was silvery white and unspotted. The sides and back were iron gray
spotted with dark, bluish gray, the whole overlaid with a silvery tint.
The claws were long, round, and sharply pointed.
When sleeping, the seal usually lay on its side, occasionally upon its
back or belly. The front flippers were held tight to its sides but the
back flippers were held straight back with the digits bent inward at
right angles and laid so that the right digits were against the left. In
moving on land the front flippers were folded into fists and used to
push the animal forward while the body was moved by snakelike motions of
the hips. It breathed in short gasps.
Genus =Tamias= Illiger
Chipmunks
The chipmunks of Asia and western North America have usually been
separated under the generic name _Eutamias_ from those of the genus
_Tamias_ of eastern America. Ellerman (1940: 428) placed both in the
same genus and Bryant (1945: 257-390) reached the same conclusions after
intensive study of American sciurids. Bryant's treatment is followed
here. The sciurid genera as they occur in Washington, are listed by
Bryant as follows: _Tamias_, _Marmota_, _Citellus_, _Sciurus_,
_Tamiasciurus_, _Glaucomys_. This order, rather than that of Miller
(1924) is used here. Four species of _Tamias_ are listed for Washington:
_minimus_ represented by two subspecies; _amoenus_, by six; _ruficaudus_
by one; and _townsendii_, by two.
Chipmunks from Washington vary in size from less than 8 inches in total
length to more than 10 inches in total length. Some race of chipmunk
occurs in almost every part of Washington. Their striped color pattern
serves as a universal recognition mark. The somewhat similarly striped
mantled ground squirrel is often mistakenly called chipmunk. The mantled
ground squirrel is larger than any chipmunk, has but two dark stripes as
compared with five dark stripes of chipmunks, and has a plain, reddish
head unlike the distinctly striped head of _Tamias_.
Like most members of the squirrel family, chipmunks are active by day
and are therefore better known to man than are most of the other kinds
of small mammals, most of which are nocturnal. The attractive color and
sprightly actions of chipmunks make them a delightful feature of the
outdoors. They feed on fruit, seeds, and fungus and eagerly eat food
that can be begged or stolen from man. They have been known to kill mice
and they have been accused of destroying nests and eggs of birds. They
often eat insects and occasionally eat the flesh of mice or other
chipmunks held in collector's traps.
Chipmunks climb trees and bushes readily but only _townsendii_ can be
called arboreal, and even it prefers to climb on stumps and dead trunks
rather than in living trees. All species are fond of climbing about
rocky outcrops and talus slides.
The call of the chipmunks is a birdlike cheep. In _minimus_ it is shrill
and uttered rapidly, but it is low-pitched and is uttered by
_townsendii_ with longer intervals between the notes. The call of
_amoenus_ is of an intermediate nature.
Young of chipmunks vary in number from four to six. Nests are
constructed of dry grass and are placed under rocks, logs, and in
burrows in the ground. There are four pairs of mammae, one pectoral, two
abdominal, and one inguinal.
=Tamias minimus= Bachman
Least chipmunk
_Description._--The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk found in
Washington. The head and body of adults measure about 3-1/2 inches; the
tail about 3-1/2 inches. Its fur is short and sleek. The dorsal stripe
is black; the upper pale stripe is buffy gray; the lower dark stripe is
rich brown; the lower stripe is white. The sides are pale buff and the
head, rump and thighs are buffy gray. The tail is brownish above,
yellowish beneath.
_Tamias minimus_ has a wide range, being found from the Cascade-Sierra
Nevada Chain to the Great Lakes and from northern Canada to central
Arizona and New Mexico. Two races occur in Washington, both in the
sagebrush desert area.
Least chipmunks are only locally common in Washington. I have found them
in areas where the soil was firmly packed and sagebrush the dominant
vegetation. All were far from water. Two miles west of Vantage, Kittitas
County, several were found near an old sheep corral, where one took
shelter in a pile of boards. In my experience, least chipmunks are wary
and difficult to collect. Many times as I crept silently through the
sagebrush chipmunk after chipmunk scampered with tail aloft into a hole
at the base of same sage bush, each far out of gunshot, voicing alarmed
chirps. The extreme caution of least chipmunks, as compared with other
species, is doubtless a necessary adaptation to living in an exposed
situation. The open sagebrush desert is a favored hunting place of hawks
and eagles; also coyotes, wildcats, and badgers sometimes abound there.
All these probably find the least chipmunk a suitable food item and only
the most cautious chipmunk survives to reproduce. The least chipmunk has
been timed at a speed of 10 miles per hour (Cottam and Williams, 1943:
262).
The food of the least chipmunk in eastern Washington is almost entirely
seeds of the annuals that flourish briefly in the spring. Insects
probably are eaten and one specimen had the remains of two scorpions in
its stomach.
=Tamias minimus scrutator= (Hall and Hatfield)
_Eutamias minimus pictus_ Howell, N. Amer. Fauna, 52:39, November
30, 1929.
_Eutamias minimus scrutator_ Hall and Hatfield, Univ. California
Publ. Zoöl., 40:321, February 12, 1934.
_Tamias minimus scrutator_ Ellerman, Fam. and Genera of Living
Rodents, British Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 432, June 8, 1940.
[Illustration: FIG. 80. Distribution of the least chipmunk in
Washington. A. _Tamias minimus scrutator._ B. _Tamias minimus
grisescens._]
_Type._--Obtained near Blanco Mountain, 10500 ft. elevation, Mono
County, California, by J. Grinnell on July 28, 1917; type in Museum
of Vertebrate Zoölogy.
_Racial characters._--Buffy color; wide dark stripes and narrow
pale stripes.
_Measurements._--A male and a female from Sunnyside, Yakima
County, measure respectively; total length 186, 186; length of
tail 81, 82; hind foot 31, 31; ear 9, 10.
_Distribution._--The sagebrush areas west of the Columbia River.
Present in scattered and widely separated areas, ranging,
according to Howell (1929: 41), north to Ellensburg and south to
Wiley City.
This species is a member of the Great Basin Fauna that entered the
state from Oregon. The population in Washington is now isolated
north and west of the Columbia River but seems not to differ from
least chipmunks from Oregon and Nevada.
=Tamias minimus grisescens= (Howell)
_Eutamias minimus grisescens_ Howell, Jour. Mamm., 6:52, February
9, 1925.
_Tamias minimus grisescens_ Ellerman, Fam. and Genera of Living
Rodents, British Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 431, June 8, 1940.
_Type._--Obtained at Farmer, Douglas County, Washington, by J. A.
Loring, on July 31, 1897; type in United States National Museum.
_Racial characters._--Similar to _scrutator_ but smaller; more
grayish, less buffy in color, dark stripes narrower and pale
stripes wider.
_Measurements._--Seven topotypes and near topotypes average: Total
length 177; length of tail 78.7; hind foot 26.8; ear 10.6.
_Distribution._--Known only from the Columbian Plateau. This race
is rare and though we hunted for it in localities where specimens
have been collected, including the type locality, it was found but
twice. Ranchers living in the area know the chipmunk but see
individuals only occasionally. Marginal occurrences are Douglas
(Howell, 1929: 41), Vantage (V. B. S.) and Pasco (Howell, 1929:
41).
_Remarks._--The geographic range of this race is separated from that of
_scrutator_ by the Columbia River and many miles of country uninhabited
by chipmunks of this species.
=Tamias amoenus= Allen
Yellow-pine chipmunk
_Description._--The yellow-pine chipmunk resembles the least chipmunk
but is larger. The underside of the tail is more ochraceous, less
yellowish. The color of the sides varies considerably in the various
races. The stripes are narrow and sharply delineated, the dorsal one
being black. Next lower is a grayish stripe, followed by one of brownish
black. The lower stripe is white. The underparts, in most races, are
white but in _luteiventris_ are buffy.
The geographic range of the species is west of the Great Plains from
central British Columbia to central California. There are twelve races,
six of them occurring in Washington.
The yellow-pine chipmunk is a small animal, being but little larger than
the least chipmunk, and much smaller than _townsendii_. Externally it
may be separated from the Townsend chipmunk by its small size, sleek,
appressed pelage and brighter color. Separation from _minimus_ is more
difficult but, in the Washington races of _minimus_, the colored fur of
the underside of the tail is pale yellowish while in _amoenus_ it is
more ochraceous or buffy. So far as is known, the two species do not
occur together in Washington.
The yellow-pine chipmunks live in open woods, brushy areas, clearings,
and rocky outcrops. Suitable conditions are abundant in mountainous
areas and the distribution of mountain ranges affects the distribution
of these chipmunks. Where yellow pine forests descend to relatively low
altitudes, the chipmunks enter the lowlands. Such conditions are
present in some places along the eastern base of the Cascades, the
inter-mountain river valleys of northeastern Washington, and along the
central-eastern border of the state.
Yellow-pine chipmunks are sprightly and active. They seem always to be
moving restlessly about, running, investigating for food, and watching
for enemies. They are far tamer than the least chipmunks, usually
allowing the observer to approach within twenty feet or closer. Some,
after coaxing, will take food from a person's hand.
Near Stevens Pass, King County, numbers of _Tamias townsendii cooperi_
and _Tamias amoenus ludibundus_, apparently on good terms, were feeding
together on blue huckleberries which grew in abundance on an extensive
snowslide area. The yellow-pine chipmunks had been drawn from
surrounding open areas by the berries, while the Townsend chipmunks had
been attracted from the forest by the same food. The nervous movements
of _amoenus_ contrasted strongly with the more sedate behavior of
_townsendii_. At the observer's close approach the yellow-pine chipmunks
went scampering off through the brush and tangles of logs and branches,
to emerge again and watch from a hundred feet away. The same
individuals, when repeatedly followed, always remained in sight. Most of
the Townsend chipmunks, when frightened, ran into the nearest dense
cover and vanished, not to appear again. A goodly number, perhaps ten
per cent, climbed high up in fir trees. None of the yellow-pine
chipmunks took refuge in trees.
The yellow-pine chipmunk is usually found at considerable altitude and
consequently there is deep snow and bitter cold in winter where it
lives. Hibernation is probably complete. Seemingly these chipmunks
depend on stored food rather than on accumulated fat to tide them over
the winter, for animals collected in autumn are no fatter than those
taken in the spring. Svihla (1936B: 290) found that _Tamias a.
canicaudus_, hibernating in captivity at Pullman, Whitman County, awoke
at intervals to eat stored food. The time of retirement of yellow-pine
chipmunks for the winter seems to coincide with the coming of winter
weather. In mid-November of one year, when no snow had yet fallen in the
Cascades, yellow-pine chipmunks were common near Stevens Pass, although
their actions were noticeably slow. In another autumn, when the winter
snows came early, I looked in vain for chipmunks in October where they
had been common earlier. George C. Cantwell noted a yellow-pine chipmunk
at Republic, Ferry County, on November 9, 1903, after the ground was
"well frozen," but apparently free of snow (Howell, 1929: 7). Like
other species that hibernate, they, at times, seem to become active in
winter; J. B. Flett reported seeing a yellow-pine chipmunk at Longmire,
Mt. Rainier, on February 14, 1920, and again on March 31 (Howell, _loc.
cit._, p. 7). At Deer Park, Clallam County, at timber-line, several
_Tamias townsendii cooperi_ were active in early April, 1938, but only
one _Tamias amoenus_ was seen. In the previous June they were abundant
there and _townsendii_ was scarce.
I have watched these chipmunks eat the berries of the red huckleberry
(_Vaccinium parvifolium_), salmonberry (_Rubus spectabilis_),
thimbleberry (_Rubus parviflorus_), devil's club (_Fatsia horrida_), and
mountain ash (_Sorbus cascadensis_ and _S. occidentalis_). Of these, the
blue huckleberry (_Vaccinum occidentale_ and _V. membranaceum_) are
probably the most important to the chipmunks. At Sherman Creek Pass, in
the Kettle River Mountains, Ferry County, I watched a pika (_Ochotona_)
busily harvesting wild raspberry plants (_Rubus leucodermis_), and
laying them in a pile under a rock. A yellow-pine chipmunk waited under
the rock and ate the ripe berries from each branch as it was laid away.
A brood nest of the yellow-pine chipmunk was discovered by Shaw (1944:
274) at Hurricane Ridge, Clallam County. The entrance was a hole 1-1/2
inches in diameter constructed among the grass and alpine flowers of a
meadow at 6,450 feet elevation. The burrow itself was 2 inches in
diameter, and had a turning-around pocket 9 inches from the entrance.
The nest was situated just beneath the sod, 4 feet from the entrance.
The nest chamber was 7 inches high by 7-1/2 inches in diameter and in
the shape of a "round-bottomed flask." It was filled snugly with nest
material composed of a grasslike sedge (_Carex spectabilis_) mixed with
feathers of the blue grouse. Earth excavated from the nest cavity had
been forced upwards through the sod in the manner of a mole in forming
mounds. The single burrow was unbranched. Seven young of about 16 to 18
days of age were found in the nest.
=Tamias amoenus caurinus= (Merriam)
_Eutamias caurinus_ Merriam, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, p.
352, October 4, 1898.
_Eutamias amoenus caurinus_ Howell, Jour. Mamm., 3:184, August 4,
1922.
_Tamias amoenus caurinus_ Ellerman, Fam. and Genera of Living
Rodents, British Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 432, June 8, 1940.
_Type._--Obtained at timber-line, head of Sol Duc River, Olympic
Mountains, Clallam County, Washington, by C. H. Merriam and Vernon
Bailey on August 27, 1897; type in United States National Museum.
_Racial characters._--Small size and pale color.
_Measurements._--Seven males and 3 females from Deer Park, Clallam
County, average: total length 207.4; length of tail 93.2; hind foot
32.5; ear 16.
_Distribution._--Higher parts of the Olympic Mountains, from Deer
Park (W. W. D.) south to head of Dosewallips River (Howell,
1929:77).
=Tamias amoenus felix= Rhoads
_Tamias quadrivittatus felix_ Rhoads, Amer. Nat., 29:941, October,
1895.
_Eutamias quadrivittatus felix_ Miller and Rehn, Proc. Boston Soc.
Nat. Hist., 30:44, December 27, 1901.
_Eutamias amoenus felix_ Howell, Jour. Mamm., 3:184, August 4,
1922.
_Tamias amoenus felix_ Ellerman, Fam. and Genera of Living
Rodents, British Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 432, June 8, 1940.
[Illustration: FIG. 81. Distribution of the yellow-pine chipmunk in
Washington. A. _Tamias amoenus luteiventris._ B. _Tamias amoenus
canicaudus._ C. _Tamias amoenus affinis._ D. _Tamias amoenus
ludibundus._ E. _Tamias amoenus felix._ F. _Tamias amoenus caurinus._]
_Type._--Obtained at Church Mountain, British Columbia, near the
United States boundary by Allan Brooks on August 13, 1895; type in
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
_Racial characters._--Large size and rich, dark color.
_Measurements._--Ten topotypes average: total length 224.7; length
of tail 98.8; hind foot 34.1; ear 14.4.
_Distribution._--The extreme northwestern Cascades, north and west
of Mt. Baker.
_Remarks._--This richly-colored coastal race barely enters Washington.
It is abundant near Goldrun Pass and Tomyhoi Lake, Whatcom County, just
south of the international boundary.
=Tamias amoenus ludibundus= (Hollister)
_Eutamias ludibundus_ Hollister, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 56 (no.
26):1, December 5, 1911.
_Eutamias amoenus ludibundus_ Howell, Jour. Mamm., 3:184, August
4, 1922.
_Tamias amoenus ludibundus_ Ellerman, Fam. and Genera of Living
Rodents, British Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 432, June 8, 1940.
_Type._--Obtained at Yellowhead Lake, 3,700 ft., British Columbia,
by N. Hollister on August 29, 1911; type in United States National
Museum.
_Racial characters._--Moderate size, brownish rump, ochraceous
sides.
_Measurements._--Five males and 4 females from the higher parts of
the Cascades average, respectively: total length 210, 217; length
of tail 89, 90; hind foot 33, 33; ear 17.4, 16.7; weight 50, 59.7
grams.