Message about fur seal summary. Northern fur seal: description, photo, video. What do seals eat

Fur seals, despite the name, have nothing to do with cats. These are pinniped mammals belonging to the family of eared seals. Their closest relatives are animals with another "cat" name - sea lions. In total, there are 7-9 species of fur seals (scientists have not yet come to a consensus on exactly how many), which are divided into two genera - northern fur seals (1 species) and southern fur seals (all other species).

Kerguelen fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella).

The appearance of these animals is typical for pinnipeds. They have an elongated body, a relatively short neck, a small head, and the limbs are flattened and turned into flippers. Compared to true seals, fur seals are not as fat and move on land relying on all four limbs, while seals crawl on their belly dragging their hind legs. The tail of these animals is so short that it is practically invisible. Unlike real seals, fur seals have auricles, for which they received the name eared seals.

The ears of fur seals are very tiny, at first you won’t notice them.

The eyes of these animals are large and dark, as if covered with moisture. Fur seals are fairly nearsighted, although they have well-developed hearing and sense of smell. These animals are also capable of echolocation like dolphins. Fur seals, although short, are very thick, and therefore highly valued. The color of animals is often brown, sometimes almost black. Newborn seals are always pure black, after molting they wear juvenile (that is, characteristic only of young animals) gray fur. Males and females of fur seals are very different in size: males look more massive due to the thick neck and are 4-5 times larger than females! The weight of male large northern fur seals can reach 100-250 kg, while females weigh only 25-40 kg.

Sleeping female fur seal.

Fur seals live on the coasts of the seas and oceans and are never found in inland waters. Since these animals are more mobile than seals, they often occupy not only gentle, but also steep rocky shores. The range of various species covers the entire Pacific basin from Alaska and Kamchatka in the north to Australia and the subantarctic islands in the south. In addition, the Cape fur seal lives on the coast of the Namib Desert in South Africa. This is the only marine mammal that can be said to live in the desert!

Fur seals have a pronounced gregarious character, their rookeries number several thousand animals, often living in crowded and crushed. Usually, animals rest on the shore, and feed in the sea. However, each such hunt can last up to 2-3 days, so the seals can also sleep in the water.

Fur seal rookery.

In addition, all types of fur seals are migratory. Typically, migrations take place in a north-south direction within the range of each species. Especially long-distance migrations are made by northern fur seals, from Kamchatka they sail thousands of kilometers to the south and winter in California. Migration is associated with the fact that during the period of breeding fur seals are in colder waters rich in food. In crowded rookeries, animals behave differently: small females have a meek character and, as a rule, do not conflict with each other, but the disposition of males is not at all “feline”. They often sort things out among themselves, and they do this not only during the marriage period. It doesn't cost anything for an adult male to bite a smaller female or throw a cub aside if he considers that they interfere with his path. On rookeries, fur seals behave quite loudly, their places of haulout are announced by noise, unlike seals, which are practically silent. Despite the herd lifestyle, fur seals do not show solidarity and do not perform organized joint actions: each animal hunts alone, comes and goes separately from the shore. At the same time, these animals have a high level of intelligence, learn quickly and are able to learn many complex commands.

Fur seals feed mainly on fish, less often they can eat cephalopods. In the water, these are agile and fast predators, moreover, they are quite voracious. By autumn, fur seals accumulate a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.

This New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) feels completely free in the water.

Fur seals breed in the spring. Only in northern fur seals spring comes in May-June, and in southern fur seals, on the contrary, in November. During the rut, males come to summer haulouts and occupy areas in accordance with their status: large males in the middle of the haulout, small and weak ones on the periphery. Males begin to roar loudly, thus marking the boundaries of their territories. If the interests of neighbors collide, the seals enter into battle with each other, fiercely biting the opponent's neck. However, more often they limit themselves to a show of force, avoiding direct confrontations. Females can freely move around the territory of the rookery, however, each male zealously watches his girlfriends and does his best to prevent the female from leaving the rival's territory. Thus, a harem is formed around each male, its size and number depend on the status of the male: large bulls can have up to 20 females in the harem, small ones have only a few individuals.

A male fur seal guards two females, preventing other males from approaching them.

Pregnancy of females lasts a year, so childbirth also occurs during the rut. Each female gives birth right in the harem and during the first days she carefully guards the cub, whose weight is only 2 kg. Then the mother is forced to leave the baby to feed in the sea. The cubs remain on the shore and are exposed to many dangers from ... fathers. The fact is that formidable bulls do not stand on ceremony with their own offspring and can simply crush the kids with their weight or throw them aside. It is during this period that a considerable number of cubs die. The second wave of danger comes in a couple of months, when the young begin to go into the water. Inexperienced animals often become prey for sharks and killer whales. On the coast of Chile, killer whales specially swim to the shores at this time to feed on easy prey. In pursuit of fur seals, they even throw themselves into the surf.

The fur seal makes incredible leaps in a desperate effort to get away from the shark.

In addition to natural enemies, hunting also brings considerable damage to populations. To this day, seal hunting is carried out on an industrial scale. Only cubs are killed (their fur is of the best quality), in addition to the skins, the meat and fat of these animals are also used. However, the main production is for the fashion industry. Some subspecies of fur seals are on the verge of extinction.

Fur seals are those wonderful animals that spend a significant part of their existence in the waters of the ocean, while they reproduce only on land.

Northern fur seals, like all other pinnipeds, have a relatively large, oblong body and a small head.

Another distinctive feature of these animals is that their ears and tail are almost invisible. But even though the ears of these animals are very small, they still have auricles.

Fur seals are those wonderful animals that spend a significant part of their existence in the waters of the ocean.

Fur seals are classified as a vulnerable species and, as a result, are listed in the International Red Book.

The wool of these animals is hard, thick. The most common colors are brown and black. The eyes are dark and large.

Habitat and lifestyle

All populations of these mammals are divided into southern and northern. Their territorial habitat is the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Austria. Among other things, they also live on the southern coast of the African mainland.

A characteristic feature of seals is that for security and breeding purposes they form densely populated colonies. They prefer to settle on the coasts, the waters of which are rich in food.

These mammals hunt in the water, but they prefer to rest exclusively on the shore. In some cases, the hunt can be quite long and the seals do not return to land for three days, but even this is not a problem for these mammals, since they can even sleep in the water. They feed mainly on fish and squid. In order to get food, they sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometers.

Almost all fur seal species migrate in search of food and suitable territory, so the movement of large groups of these animals is seasonal. Not the last role is played by the need for reproduction and breeding.

Regardless of where and how fur seals live, and also what they eat, they always prefer to hunt exclusively on their own. Among other things, many scientists agree that these animals have a very high intelligence.

Fur seals are pinnipeds that belong to the eared seal family. It is from these animals that simply delightful circus performers are obtained, since they are not only distinguished by their attractive appearance, but also by quick wit and effortless dexterity. To date, biologists have managed to identify eight varieties of these animals:

Far Eastern;
South American;
New Zealand;
Galapagos;
Kerguelen;
Cape;
Guadalupe;
subtropical.

Far Eastern

This species is a classic representative of sea cats. You can meet these animals in the North Pacific Ocean, up to California and southern Japan. The body length of this species of seals is about 2.2 meters, and they weigh about 320 kilograms.

Far Eastern fur seal

The body of these seals is shaped like a large drop of water with a very small head and wide-set eyes. Representatives of this species have silky and thick fur, which can be of completely different shades. Thanks to fur and a thick layer of fat, the body of this animal is reliably protected from hypothermia.

South American fur seal

Males reach a length of about two meters, while they weigh about 200 kilograms. In accordance with the habitat, it is customary to distinguish between:

seals living in the Falkleyed Islands;
seals living on the coast of South America.

Both varieties like to arrange rookeries on rocky shores, in grottoes and caves. Unlike some others, this species is numerous and not listed in the Red Book.

New Zealand

The species has a gray-brown color and is found on the coast of New Zealand, as well as in the west and south of Australia. Sometimes they can also be found on the subantaractic islands.

They grow up to 2.5 meters, while their weight is about 180 kilograms.

Galapagos

This type of seal is considered the smallest, as animals grow in length only up to 150 centimeters and weigh no more than 64 kilograms.

The coat color of these animals is gray-brown. Their distinguishing feature is that they do not migrate, but spend their entire lives near the Galapogos Islands. They spend over seventy percent of their time on land. They prefer to eat cephalopods and fish.

Kerguelen

These eared seals look like a big dog. Their peculiarity is also that, despite their impressive size and heavy weight, they can, by pulling their hind flippers under the body, lift their weight only with their forelimbs.

In length, they reach two meters and weigh about two hundred kilograms, like all other varieties of females, they differ in that they are much smaller than males, their weight does not exceed seventy kilograms, and their body length varies from 1.1 to 1.3 meters. .

Cape

This species of seal is found in South Africa. They prefer to live on the coast of the Namib Desert and are the only marine inhabitants that live in the desert.

Outwardly, they are no different from other varieties. These animals grow up to 2.5 meters. It is thanks to such an impressive size that this species is recognized as one of the largest.

Guadalupe

Can be found in Mexico on the island of Guadalupe. Males are much larger and grow up to two meters in length.

The coat is dyed almost black or dark brown. A distinctive feature is that the back of the neck has a yellowish tint.

Subtropical

Representatives of this species grow to medium size and weigh about 160 kilograms with a body length of two meters.

This species lives in Amsterdam and the South Atlantic. Representatives of this species live on average about 24 years. As for the coat, the males differ in that their back is from dark gray to black, but in females it is a lighter gray.

The males of this species of mammals are polygamous and try to create a kind of harem. At the same time, females very often choose their other half, based on criteria such as heredity.

Note! According to statistics, only 25% of females mate with the owner of an educated harem, while the rest prefer to go a distance and mate with a male who is not a relative.

Fur seals become sexually mature animals only at the age of three. But this does not mean at all that from this age they can already mate and produce offspring. In order for this mammal to have the right to mate with a female, they must reach the age of seven, since only at this time do they become powerful and strong.

The males of this species of mammals are polygamous animals and try to create a kind of harem.

Of course, it is much easier for females in this matter, since there is absolutely no need for them to grow and build muscle mass. They only have to wait until the males find out the relationship between themselves and subsequently only have to submit to the winner. During the mating season, these animals prefer to sit on sunbeds. At the same time, the struggle of two males for the opportunity to mate with a female is sometimes very fierce and leads to severe injuries or even death of the enemy. Despite this, the life expectancy of this species of eared seals is about thirty years.

But, unfortunately, no one is immune from rivalry, and the strongest get the right to continue their race. In the process of such natural selection, males organize a kind of harem from their females, which he very carefully guards from any attempts by other males. At the same time, absolutely all females in such a harem are in complete obedience to their master and do not even have the right to arbitrarily leave a certain territory.

Quite often, males make attempts to abduct females from someone else's harem, while the female herself suffers the most, since during such an operation the male tries to get as close to the female as possible and, grabbing her with his teeth, pull her along with him. At the same time, the owner of the harem, unequivocally noticing such a mess, for his part, is trying to pull the lady back. Such a pull is a very tough spectacle, during which men are not at all interested in the safety of the fairer sex. During such tugging, females very often receive very serious injuries, sometimes incompatible with life.

As for the production of offspring, they feed their cubs for no more than four months. At the same time, the female during this period of time can systematically go to sea and continue to feed actively. It is because of this that the mother can feed the cub during this period only about ten times, but no matter how strange it may seem to them, this is quite enough.

Most fur seals are born black, but there are exceptions when a white baby is born. Such mammals are very noticeable against the background of all the others.

Toddlers are mobile and active animals that constantly strive to escape somewhere. Therefore, not only females, but also males monitor their offspring, who, in addition, also protect them from the encroachment of various predators.

After the kids reach a certain age and development, this mainly happens at the moment when they start to swim, then the whole company goes to sea in order to subsequently return here next year.

Fur seals are of particular interest to children, they are very often worried about everything connected with them, how much they weigh, who they are or mammals, what they eat and much more. On the Internet you can find a huge number of different interesting facts for children about fur seals.

Latin name- Callorhinus ursinus
English name-Northern fur seal
Class- Mammals (Mammalia)
Detachment- Pinnipedia (Pinnipedia)
Family- Eared seals (Otariidae)

conservation status

The view is included in the International Red Book (UICN).
In 1911, a convention was signed between the United States, Great Britain (Canada), Japan and Russia to prevent the further destruction of fur seals, which was in force until 1941. In 1957, a new convention was concluded, which prohibited the sea hunting of fur seals. Currently, the Pribylov Islands are declared a US government reservation. On the territory of Russia on the islands of Tyuleniy and Komandorskie, a reserve regime has been introduced.

View and person

For a long time, fur seals were considered exclusively as valuable fur-bearing game animals, and the history of their hunting is long and not always beautiful. Since the formation of the Russian-American Company in 1780, fur seal hunting has taken on an especially large scale. For example, for the period from 1799 to 1867. over 2.5 million northern fur seals were harvested on the Komandorskie and Pribylov Islands. By the beginning of the 20th century, as a result of predatory hunting by American, Japanese and Russian hunters, the number of these animals decreased to 132 thousand heads in 1910.
A very small number of seals are now being harvested, mainly bachelors aged 3–4 years.

Spreading

The northern fur seal is common in the North Pacific. The main rookeries are located on the Pribylov Islands in the Bering Sea (US territory), on the Commander Islands and Tyuleniy Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. A small population of seals lives on the Kuril Islands. In winter, fur seals are kept in the Bering, Okhotsk, Japan Seas and in the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Appearance

Outwardly, northern fur seals are quite comparable with other representatives of the order of pinnipeds. They have a fairly powerful streamlined body and limbs that have turned into flippers. Sexual dimorphism is very pronounced: body length of males up to 2.1 m, weight up to 300 kg, females - up to 1.5 m and 65 kg. In general, males look much more massive than females, mainly because of the powerful neck and powerful chest. The flippers of seals are very long and devoid of hair, and they have a fairly large number of sweat glands. The claws on the front flippers are almost invisible or absent altogether. The muzzle is shortened, pointed, the eyes are widely spaced. The external auricles are small, not longer than 5 cm.
The fur of seals consists of outer and downy (undercoat) hair. Their hair grows in bunches: 1 guard hair, 2-3 intermediate and 10-30 down. This dense underfur plays a major role in the process of thermoregulation in the water in seals. The color of the coat varies depending on the age and sex of the animals. Newborn cubs have a solid dark color. After the first molt at the age of 3-4 months, the color of the fur becomes silver-gray (it was because of this fur that seals were hunted earlier). After the next lines, the fur of animals changes differently. Males are darker in color, and with age, more light (gray) hair appears in their coat. The coat of females retains a silver tint all their lives and only slightly yellows with age.
Due to the fact that fur seals spend part of their lives on land, part in water and even under water, their eyes must see in all these areas of habitat. The eyes of seals are large, and their internal structure indicates the possible presence of binocular vision. The visual acuity of seals is at a fairly high level, both in water and on land.
A fur seal's good sense of smell "works" mostly only on land. By smell, males determine the boundaries of their territory and the marital status of females. By smell, females find their place in the rookery and their cub.
Hearing is also well developed in fur seals, while they hear equally well both on land and in water. The morphological structure of the middle and inner ear shows that cats can perceive a wide range of sounds, including ultrasounds.
Very important for seals, especially on rookeries, and tactile sensations. Despite being very crowded, they usually avoid direct bodily contact with each other. Tactile sensitivity is carried out by skin receptors and special sensitive vibrissae hairs located throughout the body. There are especially a lot of them on the muzzle, where vibrissae form thick "whiskers". On the upper lip of seals there are 22-23 pieces on each side. Approaching each other, the animals not only sniff, but also “puff up their whiskers” for tactile sensations.

northern fur seal

Lifestyle and social organization

Like all pinnipeds, fur seals are excellent swimmers and divers, but are quite helpless on land. Moving in the water, the cat seems to be flying, flapping its large front flippers like wings. In danger, it can reach speeds of up to 15-17 km / h, but usually swims at a speed of 9-11 km / h. The hind flippers serve as a rudder and balancer when swimming. Seals can dive quite deep, to a depth of 100 m, but usually stay in the surface layer of water with a thickness of 10 to 20 m.
Seals are active mainly at night, in the evening and early in the morning. During the daytime, they usually sleep, and they do this both on land and on water. While sleeping on the water (and this happens mainly in winter, when the seals lead a pelagic lifestyle), they lie on their side, one front flipper is immersed in water, and the other 3 are raised like a house over their heads to keep warm. With a flipper immersed in water, the sleeping cat all the time lightly paddles, maintaining the desired position of the body in the water.
The social life of fur seals is sharply divided into 2 periods - summer (rookery) and winter (pelagic).
In summer, seals live on rookeries among the mass of their relatives, closely contacting each other, and in winter, at sea, they stay alone or in small groups, practically not communicating with each other.
In spring, in May, adult male billhooks are the first to swim to haulout sites located on islands remote from the mainland with pebble or sandy beaches. They come ashore and occupy selected suitable sites. This process is by no means peaceful, there are constant skirmishes and even serious fights between males for possession of a certain territory.
In June, females begin to approach the rookeries. Males meet them and try to escort them to their site. Usually females strive to choose the same place where they lived in the previous year. Gradually, a group of females forms around each male, the so-called harem. Each harem can have 20-30 or even 50 females. Gradually growing harems almost connect with each other, forming a noisy numerous rookery. Female fur seals are also constantly in conflict with each other. Therefore, there is a constant noise on the rookery from neighbors angrily “talking” to each other.
Some time after the birth of the cubs, so-called “kindergartens” are formed at the haulout, where young from all over the haulout gather while their mothers go to sea to feed.
Young male fur seals form their own separate bachelor rookeries. Here life is much calmer than in the "adult" rookeries. Bachelors, although they arrange “demonstration” fights, never bite or injure each other. These skirmishes prepare young males for further "adult" life.
After the end of the active breeding period, seals remain on the rookery for another 2–2.5 months, rest and molt. All conflicts between them cease. In October, with the onset of cold weather, seals leave their rookeries for the sea, first young, then adult animals. Further, they lead a marine, wandering life of single animals.

Feeding and feeding behavior

Fur seals feed on about 60 species of marine animals, mainly fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. The daily food requirement of the northern fur seal is about 7% of its body weight. The main feeding season is from autumn to late spring. During the breeding season, sexually mature males with harems do not feed at all. At different points of the range, the species composition of seal prey varies somewhat.

Vocalization

The sounds made by fur seals are very diverse, and they are most "talkative" during their stay on rookeries on land. Males, demonstrating the occupation of the territory and threatening rivals, emit a powerful vibrating roar, reminiscent of a loud steamer siren. When regularly patrolling their possessions, males make specific, unusually high for such large animals, clattering sounds.
Female seals also communicate with each other. Their rather loud and aggressive "snorting" is constantly heard on haulouts, especially when trying to violate individual territories. The female communicates with the cub with special quiet gentle calls, and, looking for her cub in the rookery, makes a loud bleating. The cub, in turn, calls the mother, who returned to the rookery after feeding, also with a loud bleat. It is by voice (and by smell) that females find their cubs in the rookery.

Reproduction and maternal behavior

Female fur seals give birth to a single cub in the very first days after entering the rookery. The newborn has a length of 55-65 cm, body weight - about 5 kg. Within a few days after birth, a new mating begins. By smell, the male determines the readiness of the female for mating and actively cares for her, however, for a very short time, no more than a day. But in a harem there can be up to 50 females! Thus, the pregnancy of female fur seals lasts about a year, but given the presence of a latent period of 3.5–4 months, the actual development of the cub lasts about 8 months.
The first 10 days after birth, the mother is constantly next to the cub. She feeds him and vigilantly protects him from real and sometimes imaginary dangers, for example, from the encroachments of neighboring females. After 10 days, it leaves the cub for the first time and goes to the sea to feed. Her absence usually lasts a week or more. Returning females find exactly their cub by smell and voice. All other babies (they are also called "black" for the color of the skin) that come to her voice, the female drives away with a threatening posture and sounds. Female cats almost never accept foreign children, and a puppy left without a mother for one reason or another is doomed to death. About a week later, the females again go to sea to feed. But, despite these rather short periods of milk feeding, the cubs grow and get stronger quickly, since the milk of seals is very fatty.
During the absence of females, the “black ones” gather on the shore in numerous “kindergartens”. At the age of one month, they are no longer afraid of cold water and begin to learn to swim and dive.
Females feed their cubs until the autumn final departure to the sea, when they are about 4 months old.
Female fur seals become sexually mature at the age of 3-4 years and retain the ability to reproduce until the age of 21. Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 5, but they become owners of harems no earlier than at 7–12 years.

Lifespan

The life expectancy of northern fur seals is about 30 years. However, very few animals survive to these years in nature. A large number of seals die in the first 2 years of life and especially in the first winter, when they are forced to switch to self-feeding. Fur seals have few natural enemies, probably killer whales and some species of sharks.

life in the zoo

At the Moscow Zoo, northern fur seals live on the Old Territory in one of the enclosures of the Pinnipeds complex. They can be seen not only from above, but also under water through large thick glasses. Often animals specially swim up to people to communicate. When a cat lies on the water, not moving, and sleeping peacefully, this often frightens vigilant visitors who believe that the animal has died.
The zoo seals are fed with fish and squid. In summer, they receive from 4 (females) to 5–6 kg (males) of food per day, and in winter the ration is increased by 50%, since the animals are kept outside all year round.

For the first time, fur seals bred in our country in July 2015 - the female Yushka and the male Pirat had a cub Flint.

The fur seal is not related to cats in any way and is a pinniped mammal, a member of the eared seal family. Its closest relative is . In nature, there are 7-9 species of fur seals, which are combined into two genera - northern (one species) and southern fur seals (other species).

The fur seal is characterized by the typical appearance of most pinnipeds. The body is elongated with a short neck, small head, and flattened limbs - flippers. The tail is short and almost invisible. The fur seal is not as fat as a seal, but moves on the ground using all four limbs. Also, fur seal is distinguished from the seal by the presence of auricles, which is why it is sometimes called an eared seal.

The eyes are dark, large, moist. Vision is poor, myopia is characteristic, hearing and smell are much better developed. Fur seals also have the ability to echolocate. The fur is short, very thick and valuable, brown or almost black. A newborn cub is always jet black, and after the first molt becomes gray. Male and female fur seals are distinguished by their size: males are 4-5 times larger. While their weight reaches 100-250 kg, the weight of females is in the range of 25-40 kg.

The diet of the fur seal consists mainly of fish, less often it eats cephalopods. In the water, it is an agile and fast voracious predator. In autumn, the fur seal always accumulates a thick layer of fat under the skin.

The fur seal chooses the coasts of the seas and oceans for life; it does not occur in inland waters. Since the species is more mobile than the seal, it can occupy both gentle and steep rocky shores. Various types of fur seals are distributed throughout the entire Pacific basin from Alaska and Kamchatka to Australia and the islands of the subantarctic. A species such as the Cape fur seal lives on the coast of the Namib Desert in southern Africa.

Common Types of Fur Seals

"Classic" representative of fur seals. Males in length reach 2.2 m, weigh up to 320 kg. Females, weighing 70 kg, have a body length of about 1.5 m. Distributed in the North Pacific Ocean to the south of Japan and California.

The body length of males is up to 1.9 m, weight is about 200 kg. Females are 1.40 m long and weigh 50 kg. The fur is light brown in females and black-grey with a mane in males. The species includes two subspecies: the Falkland fur seal (Arctocephalus australis australis), which lives in the Falkland Islands and the main subspecies Arctocephalus australis gracilis, an inhabitant of the coasts of South America. The population today is stable and not in danger of extinction.

Painted grey-brown. Males are distinguished by a black mane and body length up to 2.5 m, weight 180 kg. Females reach a length of 1.5 m, weigh up to 70 kg. The species is found on the coasts of New Zealand, in the south and west of Australia, as well as on some subantarctic islands.

The smallest kind. The body length of males is 1.5 m, weight is up to 64 kg. The body length of females is 1.2 m, weight does not exceed 28 kg. Wool gray-brown. This species is endemic to the Galapagos Islands, where it lives all its life without making migrations.

Males reach 1.9 m in length, females - 1.3 m. Weight 150 and 50 kg, respectively. Fur gray-brown. The male is distinguished by the presence of a black mane, with gray or white hairs. Habitat - Antarctica (South Georgia and South Sandwich, Prince Edward, South Shetland, South Orkney, Bouvet, Kerguelen, Heard and McDonald, Crozet and Macquarie Islands).

The body length of males is 2.5 m, females - 1.8 m. This species is the largest. The subspecies Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus is found on the Atlantic coasts of South Africa and Namibia, and can migrate far north. The second subspecies Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus lives on small islands in the Bass Strait.

Males are larger than females. The view is painted in dark brown or almost black, with a yellowish back of the neck. The mating season takes place in the east of the island of Guadalupe, which is 200 km west of California.

Medium sized view. The body length of males is up to 2 m, weight is about 160 kg, females are up to 1.4 m in length, weigh about 50 kg. The chest and muzzle are creamy orange, the belly is brownish. The back of males is dark gray or black, females are light gray. The habitat is wide and partially overlaps with the Kerguelen fur seal. Large colonies live on the islands of Gough in the South Atlantic and Amsterdam in the south of the Indian Ocean.

A striking sign of sexual dimorphism in fur seals is the difference in the size of females and males. The latter are larger than the former by 4-5 times. In addition, males have a black mane on their necks, which is absent in females.

Fur seals have a gregarious character, in rookeries there are several thousand individuals that live in close quarters. Animals rest on the shore, go to the sea in search of food. The duration of the hunt is usually 2-3 days, so the fur seal knows how to sleep in the water.

All species are characterized by migration. They are usually directed north-south within the range. The farthest movements are typical for northern fur seals: from Kamchatka to California. Migration is due to the fact that fur seals choose colder waters rich in food during the breeding season.

On rookeries, fur seals behave differently: females are usually calm and peaceful, but males show aggression, often bite small females and cubs. In addition, these animals are very loud, and their rookeries are distinguished by a high level of noise. Each fur seal hunts alone; joint actions are not typical for this species. Fur seals are distinguished by a high level of intelligence, they are easy to train even complex commands.

The mating season is in the spring. Only in the northern fur seal spring comes in May-June, and in the southern fur seal in November. At this time, males come to summer rookeries and occupy each of their sites: large individuals in the middle, small and weak ones at the edges. Males roar loudly, marking the border of their territory. Fur seals often fight each other and bite. Females move freely around the rookery, but males follow them and try not to let them out of their territory. A kind of "harem" is created around each male: from 2-3 to 20 females.

The duration of pregnancy is 1 year, childbirth occurs during the rut. The female gives birth in a harem, and at first guards the baby, weighing about 2 kg. She then leaves him as she goes out for food. The babies left on the shore are threatened by males, who can easily crush them. Young animals in the water become prey for sharks and killer whales. For these reasons, mortality among young animals is quite high.

The natural enemies of the fur seal are sharks and killer whales, which attack the young. The population is also damaged by hunting, which people still conduct on an industrial scale. They mainly hunt cubs because of the high quality of the fur, meat and fat are also used. Because of this fishing, certain subspecies of the fur seal are on the verge of extinction.

The rookery of the northern fur seal on the Commander Islands was first described in the middle of the 18th century by the naturalist Georg Steller. After describing the rich rookeries, hunters for “fur gold” reached out to the islands and uncontrolled fishing began, which put the animal on the brink of extinction. In the 20th century, a convention was adopted for the conservation of the northern fur seal. Fishing is still going on, but not in such volumes as before, and the population is gradually recovering.

On the Internet you can always find a lot pictures of fur seals, photo and videos with their participation. Often, fur seals become movie heroes, films with the participation of which are designed to draw attention to the problem of their conservation in the wild.

The most typical representative of its genus is northern fur seal. Here we will mainly talk about it. Having understood the way of life and habits, you can get an impression of these marine inhabitants.

But, in general, there are several species of fur seals, and they live in both northern and southern latitudes. But cold waters are more preferable to them, this is dictated to them by their nature of the body structure, perfectly adapted to the northern climate.

Between seal and fur seal difference small, in truth, it just belongs to the seal family, and is, so to speak, its closest relative. Sea lion, cat and the seal, of course, have their differences, but they are fundamentally similar to each other.

They have a similar body constitution, customs, hunting and breeding methods, habitat. Often their summer beds border on each other, which does not bother them at all, and there are no conflicts.

This interesting animal was described by Steller, a naturalist who lived in the 18th century. He called their colonies in no other way than “countless”, because then they were really extremely common along all the northern coasts.

And maybe he shouldn't have described their generous population so colorfully. After all, immediately after that, an all-out hunt opened for them - poachers of all stripes rushed to get fur seal, price on the fur of which was quite high.

For a long time of completely uncontrolled fishing, colonies of fur cats more than once reached a complete decline and revived again. Finally 1957. The Pacific Northwest Fur Seal Protection Act was passed. After all, this is not toy - fur seal as well as all other living beings has the right to a peaceful existence.

Undoubtedly, recently their production has sharply decreased, and somewhere even completely eliminated. But still, poaching still takes place, and sometimes quite legal - when these are caught for aquariums that demonstrate dolphins and fur seals.

In addition, circus fur seal show popular in many countries. Till now trapping Russian fur seals, takes place, for example, this is Bering Island.

Fur seals are quite large. Males reach sizes of more than 2 meters, and weigh up to 300 kg. Females are much smaller - 1.5 meters long, and weighing an average of 70 kg.

The main warming element for seals is their thick and warm fur, and not the fat layer, like many of their relatives in the family. A thinner layer of fat allows them to dive much deeper. From above, soft fur is covered with hard, dark wool. The intensity of the color depends on the sex and age of the individual.

Usually from birth fur seal baby has a uniform dark color. Birth white fur seal rare, although albinism is not excluded. Usually this is a pathological, genetic disorder, and the cubs are born blind, therefore, as a rule, they do not survive. But still there are exceptions.

A few months after birth, the seals molt, and the color becomes more gray. With further development, it becomes somewhat different depending on the sex of the individual. As with humans, older cats develop gray hairs in their coats and lighten the color.

fur seal habitat

Seals do not lead a settled life, but most of the year they move from place to place. The breeding season, when they spend time on rookeries, is quite short - until the end of summer.

The lairs are usually located in a permanent place, where they return every year. These can be sandy beaches located near rocks or rocky shoals, entirely consisting of flat stone blocks, on which it is convenient to lie.

The main thing is that from the open sea, from where storm waves regularly come, they are protected by a natural ridge of reefs or stones. This may be a large strip of shallow water, overgrown with dense thickets of algae. There, in quiet backwaters, their cubs will learn to swim.

For the winter, they are removed from their place, and go to hunt in the sea. This period lasts for more than six months. In the sea, they stay in small groups, without forming any significant concentrations.

Reproduction and lifespan

At the age of 3 years, they become fully sexually mature, but in order to compete for the right to mate with a female, they need to reach the age of 7 years. Then they will become strong and powerful enough to beat off the female from their own kind, it is desirable that by this time they have already reached the age of 10 years.

This is the period of their highest dawn - these are already powerful and stately individuals. In this regard, females are somewhat easier, they just have to wait until large and strong males sort things out, and dutifully surrender to the winner. They do not need to gain muscle mass and save strength. Fur seals live for about 30 years.

As already mentioned, during the mating season, fur seals are on the haul. Their coming ashore occurs at the end of spring - the beginning of summer. This is where the battles between strong males begin. Fights are extremely violent, sometimes this leads to severe injuries, and even the death of one of the participants.

But this is natural selection - only the strongest get the right to procreate. As the rookery fills up, a conditional division of the territory between neighbors occurs - fights at the same time already have a more demonstrative character than a practical orientation.

Each male forms around himself a kind of harem of females, and zealously guards them from the encroachments of other males. Here, the females are in complete submission to their master, and cannot voluntarily leave the territory isolated by him.

Often there is an attempt to kidnap females from someone else's harem. For the most part, the female herself suffers. The kidnapper quietly sneaks up, grabs the female with his teeth, and tries to drag him away. At the same time, the owner quickly notices the neighbor's arbitrariness, and tries to pull the female back.

A hard pulling of the female from side to side begins, and they are not interested in her safety, the matter of principle is already important here. As a result, the female can get severely injured and die. This often happens with such a division - they can literally “split” it.

Well, here comes the moment of procreation. Feeding the cubs takes only a few months, usually no more than four. At this time, the female continues to actively feed, constantly going to sea. Therefore, for all the time she can feed the cubs only ten or twelve times.

But strangely enough, this is enough for them. The kids are quite frisky and mobile, they constantly strive to slip away somewhere. But the males are closely watching them, and naturally do not give offense to predators.

When they reach a certain development, when they already have the ability to swim and are able to hunt on their own, the whole company begins to gradually go to sea in order to return here only next year.