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Cape Fur Seal

Mammals

The Cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus, also called the brown fur seal or Afro-Australian fur seal, is the largest and most robust of the fur seals. It has two subspecies: A. p. pusillus along the southern and southwestern coast of Africa from Namibia to the Cape of Good Hope region, and A. p. doriferus, the Australian fur seal. African males average about 2.3 m and 200 to 300 kg, and females about 1.8 m and 120 kg. Its diet is made up of up to about 70 percent fish and 20 percent squid, and its main predators are great white sharks and orcas. African seal hunting was outlawed in South Africa in 1990, and the African population is described as robust.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Carnivore 1
System (Realm)
Marine 1
Threats
Biological Resource Use 2
Threats
Pollution 2
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Conservation Status
Least Concern 3
Body Size Band
Large 2
Lifespan
32.1 4
Comparison
CITES Appendix
Appendix II 3
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Arctocephalus, Taxa
Source Arctocephalus pusillus (Wikipedia)
Otariidae, Taxa
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Arctocephalus pusillus (Animal Diversity Web)

In Biome

Marine, Biomes
Source Arctocephalus pusillus (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Namibia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Arctocephalus pusillus (Wikipedia)Article text, range
Quote, Article text, range
The African fur seal inhabits the southern and southwestern coast of Africa, from Cape Cross, Namibia to around the Cape of Good Hope
South Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Arctocephalus pusillus (Wikipedia)Article text, range, where it lives
Quote, Article text, range, where it lives
Penguins on Dyer Island in South Africa face the same threat.
Sources
1. Arctocephalus pusillus (Wikipedia)
  • Article text, sys
    The African fur seal inhabits the southern and southwestern coast of Africa, from Cape Cross, Namibia to around the Cape of Good Hope
  • Article text, diet
    The African fur seal's diet is made up of up to 70% fish, 20% squid, and 2% crab.
  • Article text, ext
    Arctocephalus pusillus, commonly known as the Afro-Australian fur seal, or brown fur seal is a species of fur seal.
  • Article text, hum
    Australian fur seals were hunted intensively between 1798 and 1825 for commercial reasons.
  • Article text, range
    The African fur seal inhabits the southern and southwestern coast of Africa, from Cape Cross, Namibia to around the Cape of Good Hope
  • Article text, range, where it lives
    Penguins on Dyer Island in South Africa face the same threat.
  • Child Taxon Of: Arctocephalus, Lead, tax
    Arctocephalus pusillus, commonly known as the Afro-Australian fur seal, or brown fur seal is a species of fur seal.
  • In Biome: Marine, Article text, biome
    The African fur seal inhabits the southern and southwestern coast of Africa, from Cape Cross, Namibia to around the Cape of Good Hope
  • In Group: Pinnipeds (Seals, Sea Lions and the Walrus), Article text, grp
    Arctocephalus pusillus, commonly known as the Afro-Australian fur seal, or brown fur seal is a species of fur seal.
View the Source
2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Arctocephalus pusillus (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  • Physical Description, range mass
    36 to 360 kg
  • Conservation Status, pollution
    Humans are also inadvertently threatening these seals through pollution.
  • Conservation Status, poaching
    Both are at the mercy of poachers, even though there are legal hunting seasons for South African fur seals.
  • Child Taxon Of: Otariidae, Scientific Classification
    Family Otariidae fur seals and sea lions
View the Source
3. SeaLifeBase: Arctocephalus pusillus
SeaLifeBase
  • IUCN Red List Status
    Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 02 March 2015
  • CITES status
    Appendix II: International trade monitored
View the Source
4. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of Liverpool: AnAge entry for Arctocephalus pusillus
Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of LiverpoolMaximum longevity
Quote, Maximum longevity
One wild born specimen was about 32.1 years of age when it died in captivity
View the Source
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