Pinniped records on the neighbouring waters of the Korean Peninsula: Japanese sea lions and larga seals recorded in the ancient literature of Korea

Abstract

We studied nine marine mammal records from two old Korean texts, Chinese writting, Goshu-enjimon-chosen-sanko (Goshu's long, scattered manuscripts) and Chosen-Ocho-jitsuroku (A Korean True Account on the Monarchial Age). Four of the records were identified or assumed to be on the Japanese sea lion (Zalophus californianus japonicus) and five on larga seals (Phoca largha). The Japanese sea lion lived from the end of 17th c. to the beginning of the 19th c. and the larga seal from the 3rd c. B.C. to the end of 18th c. Two places where the sea lion are reported to have lived were Ullung-do in the Sea of Japan, and the estuary of the Tumangang in northeastern Korea, bordering on Russia. One place that the seal is reported to have lived was Kangnung located on the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. The other four places were somewhere around "the eastern waters", broad area containing the Bo Hai, Huang Hai and Sea of Japan. We confirmed that sea lions had had a breeding colony at Ullung-do at the end of 18th c., and estimate that their population size was substantial during three periods, the end of 17th and 18th c. and the beginning of 19th c.