Australian Fur Seal

Name: Codi
Price range: $

There are nine species of fur seals in the world, and the Australian fur seal is the largest of them. They are excellent swimmers and spend much of their lives in the ocean, hunting for fish, squid, and other sea creatures. On land, they gather in large colonies on rocky islands and beaches to breed and rest.

Species Name

Australian Fur Seal

Species Scientific Name

Arctocephalinae

Species Family

Otariidae

Species Description

These seals have brown fur and two small ears, a black nose and a large body with a mermaid tail on the end.

Species Size

Adult males reach 2 to 2,5 m in length. Females generally measure 1,2 to 1,8 m in length.

Species Identifying Characteristics

Their little ears and brown fur.

Species Interesting information

These seals have very dense waterproof fur.

Species Habitat

The Australian fur seal lives in coastal and marine environments in southeastern Australia. They can often be found on rocky coastal environments, where they can come up and lounge on the rocks.

Species Food

They are carnivorous marine predators, and mainly eat smaller fishes that live in large schools, but also squid and octopus.

Species Breeding/Reproduction

They breed once a year in large colonies on rocky islands. The females typically give birth to one pup per season.

Species Distribution

The coastal water of Tasmania, the Bass Strait and the southern coast of Australia, including South Australia, Victoria and south New South Wales.

Species Status
Protected

Species Threats

Once hunted heavily the Australian Fur Seal are now recovering in numbers, but they are still facing threats such as declining population of prey and entaglement from fishing debris.