The following is my translation of an article called: Die Kegelrobbe von Regierungsrat Dr Micke, Hannover. It appeared in a German popular science magazine, Kosmos Handweiser für Naturfreunde 1909, Heft 8, Seiten 228-231.
As usual, in order to cause as much inconvenience and frustration as possible, I simply refuse to upload the edifying illustrations which get referred to. You might be able to cut some out from library books and glue them onto the monitor of your computer (or preferably the monitor of a friend). Or draw them on the wall.
I'm not aware of any previous translation.
Trevor Dykes.

The Grey seal by Government Advisor Dr Micke, Hanover
Among the best loved attractions in every zoological garden is the seal pool. It is always thronged by visitors at feeding time, and they take delight from the skill displayed by its lovely inhabitants as they catch the fish thrown to them, and the quiet elegance of their movements in the water. These are indeed remarkable animals with their smooth, elongated bodies and the paddle-like limbs, the long claws of which allow their owners to be recognised as predators. The most particular questions and opinions will be offered from among the spectators. Sometimes, an old sailor or a resident of the coast will be present, and able to explain to the curious that the 'Sahl' (Additional note: North German dialect words can be closer to their English equivalents than German ones) is a real dog, and a damnable one that eats the fish away from the fishermen, and always tears their nets. They are correct about the seal being a real carnivore. This recognition is not all that old. The earlier systematicists united seals with the whales and sea cows, groups with which they have no particular evolutionary connections, into the group of aquatic mammals. Today, one includes family of the seals, or Phocidae as science calls it, the Otariidae (sea lions) and the Trichecidae (walruses) in the Suborder of Pinnipedia ('paddle-footed') (Additional note: = Superfamily of Phocoidea), and this is a Suborder of the Fissipeda (Additional note: this is now an alternative name for Carnivora) (terrestrial predators) of the Order of Carnivora.

Some people have the desire to see a seal in freedom. This is naturally easier said than done. Much stamina and luck are required to simply observe them in their natural environment, let alone to be able to hunt one. This is best done on the North Sea coasts, where the Common seal (Phoca vitulina Linnaeus) is frequently found, even if not in the great numbers of earlier. But, as not everybody will be aware, the Baltic Sea also hosts several species of seal. As well as the Common seal, which sometimes shows itself there but does not appear to be resident, there are two native species which are otherwise only met at higher altitudes: the Ringed seal (Phoca annellata Niles -Additional notes: annulata is more usual. However, even more popular than that is P. hispida.) and the Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus Niles), which is also known as Urtzel and Graukerl ('grey fellow'). The first named can hardly be differentiated from the Common seal; the characteristic which has produced its name is namely the light ring spots on the dark, upper part of its body, but these do not occur on all specimens. Characteristic distinctions only otherwise occur in the skull and the dentition; the nose bone is much narrower for P. vitulina, and the teeth are vertical whereas the teeth of the Common seal are diagonally arranged. In contrast, the Grey seal is such a different animal to the real seals (Phoca), that it has been placed in its own genus (Halichoerus literally means 'sea pig'). A quick glance reveals significant distinctions. The most obvious is that the Grey seal is larger and heavier than the others. It reaches a length of 3m and a weight of 250kg*, whereas Phoca is a maximum of 1.5m long and weighs up to 75kg. Other differences are found in the construction of the skull and teeth (see Illustration 1). The skull is, when seen from above, narrower, the forehead and nose bones build a straight line in adult animals**, and the molars, which have three or four cones for the Phoca species, are composed of simple balls, excepting for the last two, even with young animals, and that provides a reason for their German name (Kegelrobbe = 'Ball seal'). The colour and pattern varies strongly, but the basic colour running through all tones is grey to orange-brown.
(Footnotes:
* According to my observations, which agree with the reports of fishermen and hunters, only the male reaches this weight. It is a much compacter animal than the female, and also has a darker colour.
** This line is still bent inwards with the young (compare Ill. 1). The nasal bone of young animals bends inwards (Ill. 3), but straightens later and then bends quite strongly outwards with age, and this is what has given rise to the specific name of grypus ('bent nose') (compare Ill. 2). In accordance with the degree of this bend, Hornschuch recognised 3 species for Halichoerus (Leunis, 'Synopris', 2 Aufl., S. 180), but this did not gain acceptance.
*** Nehring, the leading authority on Grey seals, concluded that the dental formula is: uppers: I 3, C 1, M 5 or 6; lowers: i 2, c 1, m5. (Additional note: 'molars' here can only include the premolars.) His works on Halichoerus can be found in the Silzungeber. d. Sekt. naturf. Freunde Jahrg. 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886; in Zool. Garten Jahrg. 1887 and 1894; in the Mitteil. der Gest. für Küsten- u. Hochseefischerei d. deutsch. Fischervereins Jahrg. 1886 and 1887.

The very rare Ringed seal is something that I have never seen. But I did have the fortune, through a series of years, of being able to observe the Grey seal in the free nature of our native waters. It would be of interest to Kosmos readers to hear more details here.

As far as I am aware, these impressive, large bodied animals, the sight of which makes the heart of the nature lover and hunter beat faster, now only permanently inhabit the Greifswalder area, and have been driven out from Höwt near Göhren, where they were previously common. Fishermen everywhere treat them mercilessly, and beat or shoot them dead whenever they can, as they see them as pests+. They also offer the prospect of profit. The government has namely placed a bounty on their heads, and the fur and blubber can be used advantageously. The blubber is cooked to produce oil, and this is sold as an animal medicine for 1 mark a litre. Hunting seals is, therefore, a very profitable business, and there would have been companies specialised for this objective long ago if it were not for the fact, that these animals are so scarce and difficult to slaughter, and this means it would not be worth establishing specialised facilities. As a consequence of the persecution, they have become very timid and careful, and they show themselves on the inhabited coasts only very rarely. In order to see them, one must search out the lonely places where they can still lead their lives undisturbed.
(Footnote:
+ They therefore celebrate the slaughter of a seal with a special fest. The fishermen of Mönchgut sing the following song:
Hahl mi den Sahlhund ut'n Stranne, to Lanne!
He hett mi all' de Fish upfräte,
Hett mi de ganze Nett zerräten;
Hahl mi den Sahlhund ut'n Stranne, to Lanne!
(Additional note: Surprisingly or otherwise, people don't speak like that here in Franconia. I think -and partly guess- it means something like:
Fetch me the seal dog from the beach to the land!
He has eaten up all my fish,
He has torn all my nets;
Fetch me the seal dog from the beach to the land!
Should any nineteenth century fishermen from Mönchgut feel like advising, then please drop me a line.)
(Friedel, in his detailed writing on 'Tierleben im Meer und am Strand von Neuvorpommern', Zool. Garten, Jahrg. 1882.) Opinions concerning the damage caused by seals are divided; Nehring contradicts himself blatantly in this regard: In Zool. Garten, 1884, Nr. 4 he states that an adult Halichoerus eats 400kg (!) of fish daily; in the M.d.S.f.K.u.H. 1886, Nr. 7, he sets this figure down to 2.5-3kg. What is certain, is that the animals do not only feed from fish, but rather, namely when young, they also consume crustaceans and molluscs.

One such undisturbed place today is still the Große Stube sandbank. This lies roughly in the centre of the Greifferwald area and, by a quiet sea and low water, it looks like a long, narrow bank carrying a sea sign (Seezeichung). The numerous granite blocks surrounding it allow us to conclude, that they were deposited during the Ice Age. The Grey seal still survives here as no ships can dare come close to the sandbank, due to the rocks and shallows, and fishermen and hunters can only rarely come here, as they know that hunting can only promise success when three conditions are simultaneously met: a quiet sea, a low water level, and a favourable wind direction. Should the sea be in movement, then the seals remain in deep water; if the water level is not at its lowest, then the bank is flooded; and if the wind direction is not favourable, then the seals receive warning from their acute sense of smell. Luckily for the seals, the conditions mentioned are only rarely fulfilled at the same time. They do, however, occur and, as long as one does not miss the right moment, so the visitor can enjoy a wonderful spectacle. As they near the bank then the large heads with their big, dark eyes, the noticeably long and wide snouts and the strong whiskers, bob up. I have seen up to eight individuals at the same time, and only alone, never together. It will remain unforgettable to me how one animal, with its white shoulders so misleadingly suggesting the impression of a human swimmer, made it no longer surprising as to why the old fables arose concerning sirens and mermaids.

After its arrival, the boat will be pulled hard up onto the bank. We try to make ourselves as comfortable as possible or lay ourselves down on the bank, especially at the lowest water level, when we protect ourselves from the water with a bit of oil cloth. If we remain very quiet and have luck, then the animals will gradually come nearer and nearer; to attempt to arouse their curiosity with movements -as is usual practice when hunting in the North Sea- would be wrong, as they are much too shy. At an even closer distance their dark heads appear, but one is not aware of any swimming movements. Eventually, one comes very close to a large block of stone, the powerful body raises itself from the water, and pushes itself up onto the rock with backwards directed movements. Once up, the seal turns its head in all directions for the sake of safety, and it can be heard breathing in the air. Should a suspicious sound reach its excellent ear, or the wind inform it of our presence through scent, then it will turn itself onto its side with unbelievable speed and let itself fall back into the water. If, however, the air be clear, so it allows itself to either rest or play. It falls asleep of slides, while snorting, here and there, and even waves its small front flippers in a fun-filled manner. After a while, a second seal also climbs up onto the same rock, and presses itself alongside of the not friendly compatriot until it has found room for itself. Gradually, the other rocks are taken into possession. Now can the hunter quietly select an animal, and deliver a shot. The hit seal sinks quickly, despite its thick layer of blubber, and only unusually fat specimens are said to float on the surface of the water.

The lifestyle of the Grey seal is not very different from that of its relatives, but the comparatively small paddle feet, which are not very suitable for moving on land, support the conclusion that they are specialised to a higher degree as aquatic animals than are the other seal species. In any case, their swimming movements are more elegant. According to Nehring, they can grab their rear paddles with their teeth and do a roll turn in water like that. Scent and hearing, as mentioned, are especially well developed whereas their vision, in contrast, is bad; they are, as with all aquatic mammals, nasal animals. I once came within 6 paces of a strong, mature seal although I lay entirely in the open on the bank; naturally, it must have seen me, but its poor sight did not allow it to recognise me as a person. The animals can pick up scents from several hundred metres but do not simply dive down, but rather they regularly turn summersaults in their shock, which makes their backs visible as the water shoots up high. They feed themselves mostly from fish, which they probably first kill with a bite, and then swallow them unchewed; at least, I found an almost unchewed 0.5m long eel in the stomach of an adult female. I have not been able to experience anything certain about their reproduction or number of babies. In the opinion of fishermen, the females give birth to their young in the winter on the ice. That would be in agreement with the shot female mentioned which, on 1st October 1903, was carrying an almost ready pup within her; the opinion of Nehring, which is in line with that of Schaff++, that the Baltic Grey seal, in contrast to those of the Atlantic Ocean, give birth to their young in the spring, cannot be accurate in all cases.
(Footnote:
++ Jagdtierkunde 1901, S.281.)

The Illustrations 2 and 3 shoe a male and female specimen of varying ages.+++
(Footnote:
++++ Ill. 2: male, 2.1m: 119kg; shot 10.10.04. -Ill. 3: female, 1.57m; 62kg; shot 17.10.08. Skull s. Ill. 1 -An enormously large male, 2.3m long and 203kg in weight, this old man is estimated as being 60 to 70 years in age, and was taken by my brother on 21st Oct. 1908. The hunt is reported in Wild und Hund Jahrg. XV, S.48.)

It is to be feared that this interesting animal will, in the foreseeable future, disappear from our waters and, therewith, from the ranks of our endemic fauna. If the agreement between Sweden and Germany, mentioned in Kosmos, Edition 6 (1909), page 32 comes into force, the Grey sea would not escape from the planned destruction and eradication. (Additional note: The actual phrase used is "planmäßogen Vernichtung and Vertreibung" but Verteibung ('to force out') can only be euphemistic.) Regardless of that, they are also at threat because their asylum, the Stubbe sandbank, is literally disappearing. The bank, which is already so low that it is only exposed at the lowest water level, will namely finally wash away to bury the findling rocks even deeper. In order to complete this destruction, it is desired to remove the remains of this bank, and to use them to secure the island of Ruden. Yet now is the time not simply to accept the threatened extinction of these seals; one would think that it were rather an indication, that these valuable natural monuments should be protected from their destruction.

An index of more of my translations of old Kosmos articles can be found at:

Kosmos Translations Archive

A number of Mesozoic (and post-Mesozoic) location summaries can be found at Localities.