[Illustration: SEA ELEPHANTS.]
The appearance of the Seals belonging to this group are very curious.
The head is broad and short, with a tuft of bristles over each eye. The
upper lip is longer than the lower; the nostrils are wrinkled, and can
be blown up into a crest. The whiskers are very long; the fore-feet are
rather small and oblong, with five elongated claws.
The Sea-Elephant is very numerous in the southern latitudes of the
Pacific, more especially upon the coasts of Terra del Fuego and Chili,
as well as upon the shores of New Zealand. The full-grown creature
measures eighteen to twenty feet in length, and from the abundance of
oil obtained from its carcass, is the subject of important fisheries.