Bearded seal

Endangered Animal Fur Seal: Science and Education Endangered Animal South African Fur Seal

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• published: 08 Jun 2015
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Endangered Animal Fur Seal: Science and Education Endangered Animal South African Fur Seal Seal Island is a small land mass located 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is so named because of the great number of Cape Fur Seals that occupy it. It is 5 acres (2.0 ha) in area and home to 64,000 cape fur seals. It is home to sea birds too and it is likely that non-marine species (in no great number) fly there to breed as well. The island is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about four to six metres above the high tide mark. The island is long and narrow- 800 metres by 50 metres. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance and no beach. Breeding sites tend to be on small rocky inshore islands, but very large colonies are also found on the mainland in rocky areas and on sandy beaches. Adult males arrive at the breeding sites in late October to early November and fight for territory before the females come ashore. The territories of the successful males eventually contain an average of 7-30 females and are maintained for about 6 weeks. Pups are born with a black coat which they moult between late February and May. As adults they will develop either a dark grey coat (male), or a more variable dark brown, brownish-grey or very light brown, often whitish, coat (female). Pups are born from early November to late December. The female mates about 6 days after giving birth and then starts going to sea to feed. Initially she spends alternate periods of 3-4 days feeding at sea followed by an average of 2.5 days suckling her pup on land. The female nurses her pup for 8-10 months. South African fur seals are not known to migrate. They feed up to 180 km offshore on pelagic schooling fish (particularly sardines, anchovies, bearded gobies, mackerel and demersal hake), cephalopods (particularly the Loligo species) and crustaceans. Their diet also includes the occasional Cape gannet, Cape cormorant or African penguin. The seals are preyed on by sharks and killer whales. The dense population of seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main predator, the great white shark. Seal Island and the adjacent waters provide rare opportunities for those who wish to witness attacks by great whites on the Cape Fur Seal and to observe social interactions among creatures of both species. The island is well known for the interesting way the sharks grab their prey: a shark launching an attack will come up from underneath and hurl itself out of the water with the seal in its mouth. It has been shown that if the seals enter the "Ring of Death" (where the sharks circle the island) on the surface instead of at the murky bottom, they are more likely to be picked off by the faster and more aggressive great white. Fur seals in South Africa have been protected since 1893, the most recent legislation being the Sea Birds and Seals Protection Act of 1973 which affords complete protection but allows the government to grant permits to kill fur seals at specific colonies. Between 1973 and 1982 there were an average of 18,750 pups and 530 adult males killed per year, and from 1983 until the suspension the average was 3,500 pups and 4,300 adult males, although these figures were highly variable between years. A small number of subadult male fur seals were culled around the island of Malgas in March 1999 and again in February 2000 in order to protect Cape gannet fledglings on the island from seal predation. References: Pinnipeds: http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/south-african-fur-seal Marine Bio: http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=266 Sea Shepherd: http://www.seashepherd.org/desert-seal/cape-fur-seal-facts.html Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_fur_seal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_seal Seal Island: http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-seal-island Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384832/Great-White-sharks-hunt-seals-South-Africa.html Shark Research: http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/predatory_behavior_of_white_sharks.pdf South Africa Channel: http://www.southafrica.com/western-cape/garden-route/seal-island/ AZ Animal: http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fur-seal/ Harpseal: http://www.harpseals.org/about_the_hunt/cape_fur_seal_alert.php Smithsonian: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fur-seals-caught-preying-sharks-south-africa-180954779/?no-ist Fur Seal Act: https://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FURSEAL.HTML Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/222512/fur-seal Animal Files: http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/seals_sea_lions/cape_fur_seal.html https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD7mUjB8KCXiMc6LVi2DjPQ/playlists http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD7mUjB8KCXiMc6LVi2DjPQ?annotation_id=551fdb1d-0000-2819-8046-001a113ac1a8&src;_vid=mTsxFZE4ZVY&feature;=iv⊂_confirmation=1