saddler n OED ~ 4 (Nfld: 1873-) for sense 1.
1 A mature harp seal (Phoca groenlandica); SADDLEBACK.
1873 CARROLL 15 The reason they are called harp seals or 'sadlers' is, the male as well as the female has a dark stripe on each side from the shoulders to the tail, leaving a muddy white stripe down the back. 1924 ENGLAND 163 A huge saddler emerges! Startled, it tries to plunge. But—Crack! Swifter speaks the rifle.
2 Great black-backed gull (Larus marinus); SADDLEBACK; also attrib.
1870 Can Naturalist v, 408 A common summer migrant, arriving towards the last of April and remaining until the drift-ice appears ... [the] 'Saddler Gull.' 1891 PACKARD 237 [The] Great Black-backed Gull [is] known as the 'Saddler' or 'Saddle-back' on the coast. 1959 MCATEE 36 ~ Great Black-backed Gull (Nfld.. 'Labr.', N.S.). 1977 Inuit Land Use 123 Soon after the pigeons and saddlers arrive, the first harp seals begin to migrate north along the floe edge.
3 Any large creature.
C 71-120 ~ Something of unusual size. C 71-128 ~ jumbo-size fish, animal, bird, person.
