The Northern Fur Seal is a carnivorous pinniped mammal, the closest relative of the Arctic fur seal.
This animal belongs to the subfamily of eared seals, the females of which are much smaller in size than the males.
The appearance of fur seals and their sizes
The female weighs on average 60-70 kg and grows up to 1.4 m long. Males are much larger: weight 200-220 kg, body length 2.2 meters. The maximum weight of the animal, noted by experts, is 320 kg.
The fur seal has a dark brown short coat. Females differ little from males in color. However, sometimes there are females with a light gray skin. Northern fur seal babies are born with black fur, which after the first molt takes on a silvery-gray tint.
Animal behavior and nutrition
Representatives of the species are excellent swimmers, capable of diving to a depth of 200 meters. Dense warm fur and a thick layer of fat perfectly protect the predator from hypothermia, because seals spend half of their lives in cold northern waters.
The northern fur seal lives in the Pacific Ocean, in its northern regions. The southern regions, where the habitat of this species passes, is from the southern tip of the Japanese islands to the southern coastal waters of the California Peninsula, as well as the Bering and Okhotsk seas.
Currently, there are 1.1 million of these animals, half of which prefer to settle in the eastern regions of the Bering Sea. Approximately 100 thousand fur seals live in the southwestern region of the Sea of Okhotsk and off the coast of Sakhalin. The Kuril Islands gave shelter to another 70 thousand animals of this species. The remainder of the population lives in northwestern North America and coastal California.
Northern fur seals have a habit of migrating widely from their rookeries. After the end of the mating season, which lasts from 3 to 5 months, the animals lead a life of solitude in the vast expanses of the sea. They can sometimes form small groups, but are mostly solitary. During the winter, they feed in the sea, without appearing on land at all. With the onset of spring, they return to their traditional rookeries.
The food for the seal is fish and shellfish. These powerful predators are sometimes attacked by a sea lion, since the habitats of animals coincide and even their rookeries are, as a rule, nearby. The joint habitation of fur seals and sea lions can be observed on the coast of the Commander Islands and the Kuril Islands.
Reproduction
Males, after fierce clashes with rivals, create harems from females. Dairy feeding of the puppies born lasts 3-4 months on average. By August, the babies grow up and after molting the animals go to sea - the feeding period begins. Every year, the feeding period is replaced by the mating season, for about 20 years in the life of these mammals. Northern fur seals live in nature for 20-25 years.
Seals(lat. Arctocephalinae) - marine mammals of the eared seal family. Outwardly they resemble sea lions, but smaller. There are two genera and nine species of fur seals.
Appearance
Seals have a streamlined body, a small head on a short neck, large eyes, and short body hairs. The muzzle is strongly elongated and resembles a dog's. Special long hairs, called vibrissae, grow on the muzzle, which perform a tactile function under water, helping the animal to navigate even in muddy water.
Relationship with a person
Man had a serious impact on the population of fur seals by uncontrolled fishing for this animal. The hunt was carried out for valuable fur, as well as meat and fat. In the middle of the 20th century. production was limited by annual quotas, and in the late 1990s it was almost completely stopped due to unprofitability.
As of 2017, the number of northern fur seals is estimated at 1.3 million. The number of all Antarctic fur seals exceeds 2 million individuals, but some species, for example the New Zealand species, are less than 30 thousand heads.
At present, man hunts fur seals mainly for zoos, catching 30-40 young individuals annually.
| Kingdom: | Animals |
| Type of: | Chordates |
| Subtype: | Vertebrates |
| Class: | Mammals |
| Infraclass: | Placental |
| Detachment: | Carnivores |
| Suborder: | Pseudo |
| Infraorder: | Pinnipeds |
| Family: | Eared seals |
| Subfamily: | Seals |
Spreading
In Russia, there are three separate herds of fur seals - Komandorskoe, Kuril, Sakhalin. In the USA, on the Pribylov Islands, the largest group is located, which in some years reaches several million individuals. In the southern hemisphere, another species lives - the southern fur seal, whose fur is significantly inferior in quality to its northern counterpart.
The habitat of the northern fur seal
In addition, all species of fur seals migrate. Usually migrations take place in a north-south direction within the range of each species. Particularly long migrations are made by northern fur seals, from Kamchatka they sail thousands of kilometers to the south and winter in California. Migrations are associated with the fact that during the breeding season, fur seals are in colder waters rich in food.
Description of fur seals
The fur seal has nothing to do with cats and is a pinniped mammal, a member of the eared seal family. His closest relative is. In nature, there are 7-9 species of fur seals, which are combined into two genera - northern(one kind) and southern seals (other species).
The fur seal has 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 it is, but moves along the ground using all four limbs. Also, the fur seal is distinguished from the seal by the presence of ears, which is why it is sometimes called the eared seal.
The eyes are dark, large, and moist. Vision is poor, myopia is characteristic, hearing and scent are much better developed. Seals also have the ability to echolocate. The fur is short, very dense and valuable, brown or almost black in color. The newborn cub is always coal black, and after the first molt it turns 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.
Common species of fur seals
Northern fur seal (Far Eastern) (Callorhinus ursinus).
The "classic" representative of fur seals. Males reach 2.2 m in length and weigh up to 320 kg. Females weighing 70 kg have a body length of about 1.5 m. Distributed in the north of the Pacific Ocean to the south of Japan and California.
South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis)
The body length of males of this species is up to 1.9 m, weight is about 200 kg. Females are 1.40 m long, weigh 50 kg. The fur is light brown in females and black-gray with a mane in males.
The species includes two subspecies: Falkland seals(Arctocephalus australis australis), which live in the Falkland Islands and the main subspecies Arctocephalus australis gracilis, an inhabitant of the coast of South America. The population is currently stable and not under the threat of extinction.
New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
This species is colored gray-brown. Males are distinguished by a black mane and body length up to 2.5 m, weight 180 kg. Females reach 1.5 m in length and 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.
Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis)
The smallest species. The body length of males is 1.5 m, weight is up to 64 kg. The body length of females is 1.2 m, the weight does not exceed 28 kg. The coat is gray-brown. This species is endemic to the Galapagos Islands, where it lives all its life without making any migrations.
Kerguelen fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)
Males of this species reach 1.9 m in length, females - 1.3 m. Weight 150 and 50 kg, respectively. The fur is 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 Islands, Prince Edward, South Shetland, South Orkney, Bouvet Islands, Kerguelen, Heard and McDonald, Crozet and Macquarie).
Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus)
This species is the largest. The body length of males is 2.5 m, of females - 1.8 m. The subspecies Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus is found on the Atlantic coasts of South Africa and Namibia, and can migrate far to the north. The second subspecies, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, lives on small islands in the Bass Strait.
Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi)
Males are larger than females. The species is colored 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.
Subtropical fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)
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 inhabit the Gough Islands in the South Atlantic and Amsterdam in the South Indian Ocean.
Lifestyle
In spring, adult males (from 7 to 11 years old) are the first to arrive in bays on sandy or rocky shores. Having inspected the area from the water, they get out on land and “reserve a territory for themselves, where his harem will be for 5-6 months. A little later, the females arrive, and their conquest begins. Each male recruits from 5 to 20 females to his harem, and a quiet life ends.
The chopper jealously watches over his "concubines" so that they are not lured by an opponent into his territory. The leader of the harem has a tuft on his head, so that everyone knows that I am the master. Single males, up to 6 years old, live in a separate colony, a little further from the harems. Females, having come out on land, about two days later, give birth to one calf. Sometimes there are two kids, but this is rare. The weight of the newborn is 3 kg, the body length is 50 cm, and he is absolutely all black.
Babies are fed with fat (up to 70% fat) and nutritious mother's milk. For several weeks, the female does not leave her cub, feeding him. He is gaining strength, but she needs to eat, and she goes fishing in the sea, leaving him alone for several days. Since many children are born, they, remaining alone on the shore, form a nursery.
Males do not pay any attention to the little ones, and in the fight for the female, they can crush the cub. And the females, after a short time, after the birth of the cub, mate with the male in order to return here the next year and give birth to offspring. Hence, we conclude that pregnancy lasts about a year.
Growing up, the cubs play with each other, try to reach the water, and even dive into it. Nobody helps them, they learn everything themselves. In the water, they try to tumble, jump and resist the current. Well, the female, returning from the sea, will easily find her baby and feed him. If the female dies, and she has a cub, then he, too, is doomed to death. No one will feed him - not a single female will let him near her.
In three months, the puppies will have their first molt, they will change into beautiful light gray fur coats. All summer long, small cubs grow and get stronger, very soon, in the fall, they will have to leave the rookery and go to the warm seas. And this path is not easy, if he swallows water during a storm, he will perish. In a year, a grown-up calf reaches a weight of 15 kg.
In late autumn, they all leave their rookeries and swim away to winter in warm waters. From October to April, seals live in the water, fattening up, and not going ashore. These amazing animals will return to land, to their places in spring. And everything will repeat itself from the beginning.
Nutrition
They feed on fish and squid. Dozens or even hundreds of kilometers swim in search of prey. A meager ration is not peculiar to him. The stomach of an adult male holds 15-16 kilograms of food. In especially large animals - barrels, they found 20 and even 25 kilograms of food eaten in the stomach, but this is already a rarity. Females and young animals are content with less: three to four kilograms are enough for them for a day or even more.
Reproduction
The breeding period begins for each species at different times, most often in the spring. In February-March, the most impatient males come ashore and begin to protect their area of the future rookery from other males. At the beginning of summer, females join them and the fight for them enters the next stage, when the males enter into fights, often bloody. Defeated males retreat to another part of the coast and try their hand again. Those who are not lucky enough to defend their right to mate goes to the edge of the rookery and humbly waits for the end of summer, when it will be possible with the whole herd to go back to the sea.
Each male can contain a harem of up to 20 females, but few manage to successfully cope with constantly attacking competitors. Usually one adult male takes care of 2-3 females.
Seal and man
The fur seal fishery began almost immediately after the discovery of the islands. Already in 1745, Emelyan Basov went to the Commander Islands. The trip was successful. 1670 sea otter skins, 1990 fur seal skins and 2,240 blue fox skins were hunted by Basov and his team.
The news of Yemelyan Basov's successful expedition spurred Russian industrialists. Following him, other fur hunters were drawn to the Commander Islands.
In the first half of the 18th century, fur seals were of little value. Fur seals were considered at that time much worse than the fur of other fur-bearing animals. Therefore, the industrialists who visited the islands, up to 1780, exported annually on average no more than 2 thousand fur seal skins. The demand for fur seals appeared after the outstanding Russian navigator, enterprising merchant Grigory Shelekhov managed to organize a massive export of skins to China (it’s necessary, and then the Chinese could not do without). Since 1780, up to 30 thousand fur seals have been slaughtered on the Commander Islands every year. They did not spare anyone, not even pregnant females. This, of course, affected the number of seals. Their livestock on the Commander Islands began to decline.
In 1799, twenty merchants combined their capital, laying the foundation for the largest association of that time - the Russian-American Company. It has existed for almost 70 years. Its permanent shareholders were Russian tsars.
Millions of savagely destroyed animals and millions of purchased rubles - this is the result of the activities of the Russian-American company. Hundreds of thousands of fur seals rotted away in warehouses. They were burned and drowned at sea to keep prices high.
In 1803 alone, 700 thousand fur skins were destroyed. According to the testimony of contemporaries, in the Unalashkinsky port in 1809-1812, baths and stoves were heated with dried skins of seals.
The fishery increased from year to year. "Fur fever" infected more and more people. The fishermen did not spare either the females or the little ones of the fur seal. By the beginning of the 70s of the 19th century, 60-70 thousand animals were hunted annually on the Commander Islands. After the sale in 1867 by the tsarist government of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States of America, the activities of the Russian-American company ceased. Even larger crowds of adventurers poured into the rookeries, hoping to get rich quickly.
It is still a commercial species on the Commanders since the Russian-American Campaign. In October, “gray” (4-month-old puppies that have grown over the summer) are slaughtered for fur. From 2 to 7 thousand are slaughtered a year. In adults, the skin is very thick and rough, with many scars. In a word - not very marketable.
The traditional food of the Aleuts was bachelors (this tradition has been preserved on the Pribylov Islands (USA)), now the slaughter of bachelors on the Commander Islands is prohibited and local residents are content with a kind of meat from dairy puppies. Recently, there has been a decrease in the limit for the slaughter of a cat. In 2001, 1,500 seals were allocated; in previous years, up to 7,000 were allocated. In November 2002, only 1,000 fur seals were assigned to slaughter. Scientists attribute this to a decrease in the number of fur seals.
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Sources of
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Seals belong to the order of pinnipeds and are members of the eared seal family.
Like all pinniped mammals, fur seals have an elongated body, a short neck, a small head, and fin-shaped limbs. The tail of these mammals, as well as their ears, are almost impossible to notice. But even though the ears of the cats themselves are too small, they still have auricles.
There are large eyes on the head, they have a dark shade and are always filled with moisture. The hair of the animal is very short, but rather thick. Fur color, often brown or black
The size of the animal is not at all small, but males are always much larger than females, about 4 or 5 times. Males weigh between 100 and 250 kilograms, and females weigh between 25 and 40 kilograms.
The entire population of these animals on the planet is divided into Northern fur seals and Southern fur seals. Their habitat is the Pacific Ocean, from the Alaska Peninsula in the north to Australia in the south. In addition, one of the species of these animals lives on the coast of the southern part of the African continent.
The fur seal prefers the coast, while it can be located both on a rocky coast and in gentle areas.
Seals are herd animals, they gather in huge colonies, and they all settle in one place. Sometimes in places where such an accumulation of cats lives, there is literally nowhere for an apple to fall. The coast for these mammals is a resting place, and the hunt takes place in the water. Often, the hunt is protracted - up to three days. But this is not a problem for fur seals, because they can sleep even in the water!
These mammals are migratory animals. Their movements are associated with the breeding of offspring, because during the breeding season they require cold waters, in which there is a lot of food they need.
Although seals live in herds, everyone prefers to hunt on their own, such is their disposition! Scientists believe that these pinnipeds have a fairly high intelligence.
Seals hunt mostly fish. Sometimes they can eat cephalopods. Due to the special streamlining of the body, these animals are quite fast divers.
The mating season in animals is in the spring (in the northern hemisphere it is May, in the southern hemisphere it is November). With the onset of the mating season, male seals try to immediately designate their territory. They do it with a loud roar.
Octopus is a fur seal's favorite treat.
The males occupying a "high position" and having the largest sizes are located in the center of the rookery. The protection of the territory is very serious and not always friendly: there are fights between rivals. Around himself, a male fur seal collects something like a harem. He has several females in mind (up to 20 individuals!) After the mating season, pregnancy begins.
For a whole year, the expectant mother bears offspring, and after giving birth she carefully protects the baby, because the "father of the family" behaves absolutely unceremoniously in relation to little cats: he may simply not notice and crush the baby with his huge body.
A newborn cat weighs approximately 2 kilograms. When babies turn 2 months old, they already begin to accustom themselves to hunting and go into the water. Until that time, mother's milk serves as food for them.
Despite the name, seals have nothing to do with cats. These are pinniped mammals belonging to the family of eared seals. Their closest relatives are animals with another "feline" name - sea lions. In total, there are 7-9 species of fur seals (scientists have not yet come to a consensus on how many), which are divided into two genera - northern fur seals (1 species) and Antarctic fur seals (all other species).
Kerguelen fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella).
The appearance of these animals is typical of pinnipeds. They have an elongated body, a relatively short neck, a small head, and their limbs are flattened and turned into flippers. Compared to real seals, fur seals are not so fat and move on land using 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 ears, which is why they got the name eared seals.
The ears of the fur seals are very tiny, at first you will not notice them.
The eyes of these animals are large and dark, as if covered with moisture. Fur seals are quite myopic, although they have good hearing and sense of smell. These animals are also capable of echolocation like dolphins. The fur of seals, although short, is very dense, therefore it is highly prized. 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 in fur seals differ greatly in size: males look more massive due to their thick necks and are 4-5 times larger than females! The weight of males of a large northern fur seal can reach 100-250 kg, while females weigh only 25-40 kg.
Sleeping female fur seal.
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!
Seals have a pronounced gregarious character, their rookeries number several thousand animals, often living in crowded and crowded conditions. Usually, animals rest on the shore, and go out to sea to feed. However, each such hunt can last up to 2-3 days, so seals can sleep in the water as well.
Seal rookery.
In addition, all species of fur seals migrate. Usually migrations take place in a north-south direction within the range of each species. Particularly long migrations are made by northern fur seals, from Kamchatka they sail thousands of kilometers to the south and winter in California. Migrations are associated with the fact that during the breeding season, fur seals are in colder waters rich in food. In the cramped rookeries, animals behave differently: small females have a meek character and, as a rule, do not conflict with each other, but the temper of males is not at all “feline”. They often sort things out among themselves, and they do this not only during the mating season. It costs nothing for an adult male to bite a smaller female or toss the young aside if he thinks they are in his way. On rookeries, seals behave quite loudly, their places of lying are announced with noise, in contrast to seals, which are practically silent. Despite the gregarious way of life, seals do not show solidarity and do not perform organized joint actions: each animal hunts alone, individually comes and leaves the coast. At the same time, these animals have a high level of intelligence, learn quickly and are able to learn many complex commands.
Seals feed mainly on fish, less often they can eat cephalopods. In the water, they are dexterous and fast predators, moreover, they are quite voracious. By the fall, seals build up 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, while in southern fur seals, on the contrary, in November. During the rutting period, males swim to summer rookeries and occupy areas in accordance with their status: large males in the middle of the rookery, 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 confine themselves to a demonstration of force, avoiding direct confrontations. Females can freely move around the territory of the rookery, however, each male zealously watches his friends and does his best to prevent the female from leaving the territory of the rival. Thus, a harem is formed around each male, its size and number depend on the status of the male: large cleavers in a harem can have up to 20 females, small ones - only a few individuals.
A male fur seal guards two females, not allowing other males to approach them.
Pregnancy of females lasts a year, therefore childbirth also occurs during the rutting season. 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. Cubs remain on the shore and are exposed to many dangers from ... the fathers. The fact is that formidable bites 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 after a couple of months, when the young begin to go into the water. Inexperienced animals often fall prey to sharks and killer whales. On the Chilean coast, killer whales specially come to the shores at this time to fatten up on easy prey. In pursuit of seals, they are even thrown into the surf.
The seal makes incredible jumps in a desperate effort to get away from the shark.
In addition to natural enemies, hunting also brings considerable damage to populations. And to this day, the extraction of seals is carried out on an industrial scale. Only the young 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 goes specifically to the fashion industry. Several subspecies of fur seals are critically endangered.
