Home › Curiosities Respecting Animals › Mon Seal

Mon Seal

These animals are found on the coasts of the polar regions, both to the north and south, often in extreme abundance, and are generally about five feet in length, closely covered with short hair. They swim with great vigour and rapidity, and subsist on various kinds of fish, which they are often observed to pursue within a short distance of the shore. They possess no inconsiderable sagacity, and may, without much * In speaking of the wild beasts of India, Pliny says, with regard to the animal in question,- "Asperrimam avtem feram monocerotem, reliquo corpore equo similem, capite cervo pedibus eliphante, cauda apro, mugitu gravi, uno cornu nigro media fronte, cubitorum duum eminente. Hanc feram vivam negant capi."

Plin. Hist. Mund. Lib. 3, cap. 21.

The resemblance is certainly very striking.