Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi)

The Guadalupe Fur Seal

The Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) belongs to the Otariidae family, which consists of fur seals and sea lions. Otariidae typically have external ears and are somewhat able to walk on land. The Guadalupe Fur Seal was listed on the Endangered Species List in 1967, when the seals were hunted to almost complete extinction. Now, they are listed as Threatened with an estimated 7000 animals currently living.

The Guadalupe Fur Seal is found in the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of California and Mexico. The Guadalupe Island for which they were named is listed as a seal sanctuary, and many of the seals live on or around that island, making their homes on the beaches and in rocky caves. The adult male seals are extremely territorial and will fight to hold on to their territory. Often, there will be one male for up to 12 females occupying a single area of the beach. The seals don’t migrate, returning to the same spot every year to mate and give birth, but they make extremely long journeys to find food.

 

The fur seal has a thick black or brown coat with a ruff of lighter tan fur around their necks. Because of their thick insulating fur layer, they all must swim to cool off in the hottest part of the day. They have small external ears and a split tail fin. The male seals grow to an average length of 7 feet (2.2 meters) and weight of 415 pounds (188 kg). The much smaller female only reaches a length of 5 feet (1.5 meters) and 108 pounds (49 kg).

Female fur seals mate just days after giving birth to their pups, and they will alternately feed and nurse for about eight to nine months after the pup is born. She will leave her pup and travel, feeding on fish and squid for approximately 9-13 days, swimming far from the breeding grounds, sometimes in excess of 2000 km. The female Guadalupe Fur Seal will then return to the island to nurse her pup, staying for five or six days. This continues until the pup is weaned completely, and then the mother will return to the island to give birth to the new pup and start the mating cycle over again. Mother seals and their pups use special noises and scent to identify each other on the crowded beach.

Once hunted for their luxurious fur, the Guadalupe Fur Seal is now protected both by Mexican and United States laws and regulations. They are still threatened by more mundane dangers, such as fishing nets and pollution, and they naturally fall prey to sharks and other large predators.

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Bibliography:
Wikipedia. Fur Seal. August 4, 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_seal.
Seal (mammal). Encarta Encyclopedia, © 2000.
Guadalupe Fur Seal August 4, 2004. http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/education/pinnipeds/guadeloupefs.htm
Seal Conservation Society. SCS: Guadalupe Fur Seal. August 4, 2004. http://www.pinnipeds.org/species/guadfur.htm