Latest Fur seal Stories
In an attempt to save thousands of baby seals from being killed for their fur, Namibia animal rights activists are trying to raise millions of dollars to buy out a fur company that buys the pelts. The annual seal-harvesting season officially started on Wednesday with a quota of 85,000 pups to be killed. The hunters club the animals to death on the Namibian coast as part of the hunt. "I got the offer from the Australian-based owner Hatem Yavuz to buy out his company for 14.2 million...
By CARPINTER, Bernard MARINELAND staff are training sea lions and seals in the hope that shows will go on after the death of their star attraction, Kelly the dolphin. The long-running Napier tourist attraction has been closed to the public since Kelly's death last week, but staff are hoping the city council will reopen it. The council will hold public consultations before deciding whether it can afford to run Marineland without its key attraction. At the zoo yesterday, Rebekah Cuthbert...
THE Department of Conservation is warning people not to be fooled by the puppy dog eyes of a sea lion or New Zealand fur seal this summer, into thinking they're safe to touch. They have a nasty bite and run fast, DOC said. Southlanders share more than 3000km of coastline with many marine mammal species and one the most common visitors are fur seals and New Zealand sea lions. DOC Stewart Island field centre supervisor Sharon Pasco said these large mammals were regularly seen on the region's...
By ALLAN TUDOR A huge dead mammal - thought to be a sea lion - has washed up on a Torbay beach mystifying wildlife experts. The body of a seven foot marine mammal was found at St Mary's Bay, Brixham by Torbay Council beach staff. A council spokesman said: "We believe it be a sea lion. Two of our men went down to have a look and they said there is no way they could move it. It is believed to weigh around half a tonne." The council is making arrangements with the harbour service to have the...
Latest Fur seal Reference Libraries
The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) is a species that can be found in the northern Pacific. It is also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion and is the only member of its genus, Eumetopias. Its range stretches from Gulf of Alaska to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Kuril Islands in Russia. Its southern range includes Año Nuevo Island near California. Although it once bred as far south as the Channel Islands, it has not been seen there since the 1980’s. Traditionally,...
The Galápagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis) is native to the Galápagos Islands. It is thought that there is one colony in northern Peru. This species prefers a habitat on the western ends of the islands with rocky shores. It is the smallest member of its family, with males reaching an average body length of nearly five feet and females reaching a body length nearly four feet. Males weigh an average of 140 pounds, while females weigh less at only 62 pounds. Its fur is brownish grey...
The subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) was described by John Edward Gray, in 1872, when he recovered an individual from Australia, and this was the cause of the improper name of tropicalis. This seal can be found mainly in southern areas of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It has a wide range, but prefers to breed in areas that are more northern than the Antarctic fur seal, as its name indicates. Gough Island located in the South Atlantic and Ile Amsterdam located in the...
The Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), belongs to the seal family Phocidae. It is the only species in its genus. Leopard Seals are the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after Southern Elephant Seals), and are near the top of the Antarctic food chain. Orcas are the only natural predators of Leopard Seals. They can live twenty-six years, possibly more. Leopard seals are large and muscular, with dark grey backs and light grey stomachs. Their throats are whitish with the black...
The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) is a species of fur seal that breeds on the coasts of Chile and Argentina. The total population is around 250,000. The population of South American fur seals in 1999 was estimated at 390,000, a drop from a 1987 estimation of 500,000. Although overall species numbers are healthy, the downward trend is causing some concern. Uruguay has the largest numbers of seals along its coast, numbering over 200,000.
