Webreflinks - Brown fur seal

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 *Darting in different directions to cause confusion when attacked
-*Riding near the dorsal fin to keep out of reach of the shark's jaws when attacked<ref>[http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/seal_antipred.htm Anti-Predatory Strategies of Cape Fur Seals at Seal Island]</ref>
+*Riding near the dorsal fin to keep out of reach of the shark's jaws when attacked<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/seal_antipred.htm |title=Anti-Predatory Strategies of Cape Fur Seals at Seal Island |publisher=Elasmo-research.org |date= |accessdate=2013-05-26}}</ref>
-Brown fur seals are still harvested in Namibia. Permits are issued for the killing of pups for their luxurious fur and adult males for their genitalia which are considered an aphrodisiac in some countries. It is also considered necessary to limit seal numbers in Namibia because of the supposed effect seals have on the country's fish harvest. Research by environmental groups disputes this.<ref>[http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/south-african-fur-seal South African and
+Brown fur seals are still harvested in Namibia. Permits are issued for the killing of pups for their luxurious fur and adult males for their genitalia which are considered an aphrodisiac in some countries. It is also considered necessary to limit seal numbers in Namibia because of the supposed effect seals have on the country's fish harvest. Research by environmental groups disputes this.<ref>[http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/south-african-fur-seal South African and Australian Fur Seals]. Seal Conservation Society. Accessed 7 February 2013.</ref>
-Australian Fur Seals]. Seal Conservation Society. Accessed 7 February 2013.</ref>

{{Taxobox
| name = Cape Fur Seal
| status = lc
| status_system = iucn3.1
| status_ref =<ref name=iucn>{{IUCN2008 | assessors = Hofmeyr, G. & Gales, N.| year = 2008 | title = Arctocephalus pusillus| id = 2060| downloaded = 30 January 2009}}</ref>
| image = Arctocephalus pusillus - SE Tasmania.jpg
| image_caption = [[Hauling-out]] on the [[Hippolyte Rocks]] off the east coast of [[Tasmania]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Carnivora]]
| subordo = [[Pinnipedia]]
| familia = [[Otariidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Arctocephalinae]]
| genus = ''[[Arctocephalus]]''
| species = '''''A. pusillus'''''
| binomial = ''Arctocephalus pusillus''
| binomial_authority = ([[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1775)
| range_map = Arctocephalus pusillus distribution.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution of the brown fur seal, dark blue: breeding colonies; light blue: nonbreeding individuals
| subdivision_ranks = [[Subspecies]]
| subdivision =
*''A. p. pusillus''
*''A. p. doriferus''
}}

The '''Cape Fur Seal''' (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the '''brown fur seal''', '''South African fur seal''' and the '''Australian fur seal''' is a species of [[fur seal]].

==Description==
[[File:Arctocephalus pusillus 1.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Fur seal grooming itself]]
[[File:Arctocephalus pusillus01.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Skull of male brown fur seal]]
The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust fur seal. It has a large and broad head with a pointed snout that may be flat or upturned slightly.<ref name="Audubon">{{RefAudubonMarineMammals}}</ref> They have external ear flaps (pinnae) and their whiskers (vibrissae) are long, and may extend backward past the pinnae, especially in adult males. The foreflippers are covered with sparse hair over about three-quarters of their length. The hindflippers are short relative to the large body, with short, fleshy tips on the digits.<ref name="Audubon"/> The size and weight of the brown fur seal depends on the subspecies. The Southern African subspecies is on average slightly larger than the Australian subspecies. Males of the African subspecies (''A. p. pusillus'') are {{convert|2.3|m|ft}} in length on average and weigh from {{convert|200|-|300|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/seal.htm |title=The S.A. Fur Seal |publisher=Botany.uwc.ac.za |date=2001-02-01 |accessdate=2013-04-13}}</ref> Females are smaller, averaging {{convert|1.8|m|ft}} in length and weighing an average of {{convert|120|kg|lb}}.<ref name=King1983>King, J. 1983. Seals of the World. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates.</ref> Males of the Australian subspecies (''A. p. doriferus'') are {{convert|2|-|2.2|m|ft}} in length and weigh {{convert|190|-|280|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mendeley.com/catalog/dive-behaviour-foraging-locations-maternal-attendance-patterns-australian-fur-seals-arctocephalus-pu/#page-1 |title=Dive behaviour, foraging location... preview & related info |doi=10.1139/cjz-79-1-35 |publisher=Mendeley |date= |accessdate=2013-04-13}}</ref> Females are {{convert|1.2|-|1.8|m|ft}} length and weigh {{convert|36|-|110|kg|lb}}.<ref name=King1983/>

Adult male brown fur seals are dark gray to brown, with a darker mane of short, coarse hairs and a light belly, while adult females are light brown to gray, with a light throat and darker back and belly. The foreflippers of the fur seal are dark brown to black.<ref name="Audubon"/> Pups are born black and molt to gray with a pale throat within three to five months.<ref name="Audubon"/> The skull of the African subspecies has a larger crest between the mastoid process and the jugular process of the exoccipital.<ref name=King1983/>

==Ecology==
[[File:Fur Seals on Duiker Island.JPG|thumb|250px|left|A fur seal colony at [[Duiker Island]], South Africa]]
[[File:Seal at керу Cape Town Scuba Diving .jpg|thumb|250px|right|Fur seal underwater]]
The African fur seal lives around the southern and southwestern coast of Africa from [[Cape Cross]] in Namibia and around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] to Black Rocks near [[Port Elizabeth]] in the Eastern Cape province.<ref name="Audubon"/> The Australian fur seal lives in [[Bass Strait]], at four islands off Victoria in southeastern Australia and five islands off Tasmania.<ref name="Audubon"/> Brown fur seals prefer to haul out and breed on rocky islands, rock ledges and reefs, and pebble and boulder beaches. However, some large colonies can be found on sandy beaches.<ref name="Audubon"/> Fur seals spend most of the year at sea, but are never too far from land. They have been recorded 160&nbsp;km from land, but this is not common.<ref name=King1983/>

The African fur seal’s diet is made of up to 70% fish, 20% squid and 2% crab.<ref name=Schilemann1990>Schliemann, H. 1990. Eared Seals and Walruses. Pp. 168–203 in B. Grzimek, ed. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: McGraw-Hill.</ref> Also eaten are other crustaceans, cephalopods and sometimes birds.<ref name=King1983/><ref name=Schilemann1990/> In rare instances they have even been documented attacking and eating sharks. A recent incident occurred off Cape Point, South Africa, where a large male was observed attacking and killing five [[blue shark]]s between 1 and 1.4 metres long. Observers concluded that the seal likely killed the sharks to eat the fish rich contents of their stomachs as well as their livers as a source of energy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Seal attack! Hungry creature eats five blue sharks in rare images of sea mammal turning the tables on predator of the deep |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270184/Seal-attack-Hungry-creature-eats-sharks-rare-images-sea-mammal-turning-tables-predator-deep.html?ito=feeds-newsxml |publisher=Mail Online |date=January 29, 2013 |accessdate=February 1, 2013}}</ref> The Australian fur seal mostly eats squid, [[Enteroctopus magnificus#Predators|octopus]], fish and lobsters.<ref name=King1983/><ref name=Schilemann1990/> The brown fur seal dives for its food. The African subspecies can dive as deep as 204m and for as long as 7.5 minutes.<ref name=Reidman1990>Riedman, M. 1990. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> The Australian subspecies generally feeds at lower depths, diving on average 120m<ref name=Schilemann1990/> and can reach as deep as 200m.<ref name=Reidman1990/>

The brown fur seal's main predator is the [[great white shark]], although they are also preyed upon by various other animals, as well, such as [[orca]]s. Land-based predators include [[black-backed jackal]]s and [[brown hyena]]s on the [[Skeleton Coast]] in Namibia.
In [[False Bay]], the seals employ a number of antipredatory strategies while in shark-infested waters, such as:
*Swimming in large groups
*Low porpoising to increase subsurface vigilance
*Darting in different directions to cause confusion when attacked
*Riding near the dorsal fin to keep out of reach of the shark's jaws when attacked<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/seal_antipred.htm |title=Anti-Predatory Strategies of Cape Fur Seals at Seal Island |publisher=Elasmo-research.org |date= |accessdate=2013-05-26}}</ref>

==Life history==
[[File:Arctocephalus pusillus Colony Friar Island.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Brown fur seal colony at [[Friar Island]], Tasmania]]
[[File:Arctocephalus pusillus (Cape fur seals).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Brown fur seals]]
Brown fur seals often gather into colonies on rookeries in numbers ranging from 500–1500, at least for the Australian subspecies.<ref name=King1983/> While fur seals spend most of the year at sea, they never fully evacuate the rookeries as mothers and pups return to them throughout the year. There is no established dispersal from a colony, although some fur seals from one colony have been found at another. True boundaries do not exist between the colonies. When at sea, fur seals travel in small feeding groups. Brown fur seals begin to breed in the middle of October, when males haul out on shore to establish territories though display, sparring and sometimes actual combat. They will fast at this time and not eat until after mating in November or December. When the females arrive, they fight among themselves for territories in which to give birth. Female territories are smaller than those of males and are always located within them. Females within a male’s territory can be considered part of his harem. However, males do not herd the females, which are free to choose their mates and judge them based on the value of their territories. For the Australian fur seals, 82% of copulations are performed by males whose territories are located directly at the water's edge.<ref name=Reidman1990/> Copulation between the male and his females begins six days after they give birth to their pups conceived from the previous year. However, there is a delay in the implantation of the [[blastocyst]], which lasts four months in the African subspecies and three months in the Australian subspecies.<ref name=Reidman1990/> Gestation for the brown fur seal lasts an average of 11.75 months.<ref name=Reidman1990/>

After mating, females begin alternating brief periods of foraging at sea with several days ashore nursing their pups.<ref name="Audubon"/> Foraging trips last about seven days in winter and about four days in summer and autumn. When a mother returns from sea to feed her pup, she emits a loud call which attracts all the nearby pups, but she only responds to her pup. She possibly can recognize her pup by smell.<ref name=Reidman1990/> When left alone, pups gather in groups and play during the evening.<ref name=King1983/> Pups are usually weaned at 4–6 months old.<ref name="Audubon"/>

==Human interactions==
[[File:Seal Gaston.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Brown fur seal in [[Prague Zoo]]]]
This species is an inquisitive and friendly animal when in the water, and will often accompany [[Scuba diving|scuba]] divers. They will swim around divers for periods of several minutes at a time, even at a depth of 60m. On land, they are far less relaxed and tend to panic when people come near them.

Australian fur seals were hunted intensively between 1798 and 1825 for commercial reasons. Seal hunting stopped in Australia in 1923, and their population is still recovering. Breeding and haul-out sites are protected by law. South African fur seals have a very robust and healthy population. Harvesting of seals was outlawed in South Africa in 1990.

Brown fur seals are still harvested in Namibia. Permits are issued for the killing of pups for their luxurious fur and adult males for their genitalia which are considered an aphrodisiac in some countries. It is also considered necessary to limit seal numbers in Namibia because of the supposed effect seals have on the country's fish harvest. Research by environmental groups disputes this.<ref>[http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/south-african-fur-seal South African and Australian Fur Seals]. Seal Conservation Society. Accessed 7 February 2013.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Arctocephalus pusillus}}
* [http://blog.lukaesenko.com/2008/07/17/cape-cross-seal-colony/ Photos of brown fur seals at Cape Cross, Namibia – photographs and information]
* [http://www.jostimages.com/galerie/penguins-seals/fur-seal.html Pictures of fur seals at Geyser Rock, South Africa on jostimages.com]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Arctocephalus_pusillus.html Animal Diversity Web – ''Arctocephalus pusillus'']

[[Category:Eared seals]]
[[Category:Mammals of Africa]]
[[Category:Mammals of Angola]]
[[Category:Mammals of Namibia]]
[[Category:Mammals of South Africa]]
[[Category:Mammals of Tasmania]]
[[Category:Mammals of South Australia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Victoria (Australia)]]
[[Category:Megafauna of Africa]]
[[Category:Megafauna]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Africa]]

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