Fur Seal Facts

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There dives the fur seal
A sleek speeding bullet
Quick as a flash he twists and he soars
Snapping at fish with sharp toothy jaws

Today’s entry is all about the New Zealand fur seal, an occasional visitor to Coral Bay; one that turns up during the colder winter months when storms down south send it scurrying northwards. The New Zealand fur seal, not surprisingly, is found mainly around New Zealand, but it also lives along the south coast of Australia, and occasionally visits the warmer waters of north-western or north-eastern Australia.

A male fur seal looks a lot like a marine lion, with thick shaggy hair and a long mane. Females and young fur seals have the thick coat, but tend to be sleeker and more streamlined (like a Formula 1 car). They grow bigger than the average human, but are small compared to other seal species, weighing in at a maximum of 180kg; that is about the same as a Shetland pony or a small tiger!

So how does a fur seal differ from the seals you see floating on Antarctic ice sheets and slithering into the water on nature documentaries? Well, first they possess ears similar to your dog’s; they are small and pointy, and sit high on either side of the head. Secondly, they can walk; fur seals and sea lions are able to move their back flippers at right angles to their bodies so they can shuffle forward across the land when they climb out of the water. True seals, like those you see on ice, are unable to do this, and have to drag their body across the ground in a very ungraceful manner.

You cannot however, see a fur seal to its full advantage on land; to get a true idea of what these creatures are like you need to experience them in the marine environment. Underwater they look like speeding bullets, twirling this way and that in a high speed dance. They have been recorded diving down to 200m, which is the equivalent of a 67 storey building or twice the height of Big Ben, and all on one breath! Yes, seals are mammals like you and me, so need to breathe air and must return to the surface regularly.

These are social beasties; on rocky beaches you can find groups of fur seals sunning themselves on rocks, playing together and relaxing after a fishy meal. Mothers and pups live in large village-like colonies, whereas the males tend to stay in smaller groups at exclusive ‘men-only’ beaches. At Christmas time, the males head over to the female colonies, where they may each choose between 6 and 14 wives! .

While England was experiencing the ‘Dark Ages’, far on the other side of the world, the Polynesians were sailing across vast stretches of open sea to colonise new lands, including a pair of islands we now call New Zealand. With their arrival, the hunting of the fur seal began. In the beginning not many seals were killed and the hunting was mainly for food. This all changed in the 1800s, when full scale slaughter began and the seals were killed for their fur and blubber (the fatty layer that keeps them cosy in the cold water of the Southern Ocean). Up to 50% of a marine mammal’s body is made up of blubber - imagine if your body was 50% fat, it would be like being a jelly with legs! The blubber was used to make soap and cosmetics, like the lip-stick your mother uses. The fur seals’ thick double-layered hides were also in demand; our great great grandparents considered them perfect for a nice warm, winter coat. So many fur seals were killed, that today this species is considered vulnerable to extinction. Thankfully fur seals are now protected in both Australia and New Zealand, and populations are once again on the rise.

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