Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The brown fur seal's main predators are the great white shark, and orcas (killer whales), as well as occasionally vagrant southern elephant seals. [10] African land-based predators, primarily of pups, include black-backed jackals, brown hyenas and occasionally lions [11] on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia.
Guadalupe fur seal Arctocephalus townsendi (Merriam, 1897) Size: Habitat: Diet: LC Juan Fernández fur seal Arctocephalus philippii (Peters, 1866) Size: Habitat: Diet: LC Galápagos fur seal Arctocephalus galapagoensis (Heller, 1904) Galápagos Islands: Size: Male: 150–160 cm (59–63 in) long; 60–68 kg (132–150 lb)
Known predators are killer whales, sharks, male New Zealand sea lions, and possibly leopard seals. [1] New Zealand sea lions are also known to target pups as their prey. [18] Several regurgitations by sea lions have been found to contain remains of fur seal pups, some with plastic tags previously attached to female fur seal pups. [18]
Most fur seal pups are born with a black-brown coat that molts at 2–3 months, revealing a brown coat that typically gets darker with age. Some males and females within the same species have significant differences in appearance, further contributing to the sexual dimorphism.
Leopard seals are also known to take fur seal pups. [36] Around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) is the main prey. Antarctic krill, southern elephant seal pups and petrels such as the diving petrel and the cape petrel have also been taken as prey. [37]
Adult Guadalupe fur seals are dark brown or dusty gray with yellowish silver manes, called guard hairs, on the back of the neck. [3] Guadalupe fur seals are sexually dimorphic in size, as males are much larger and heavier than females; males can grow to about seven feet in length and weigh upwards of 400 pounds, while females are typically only five feet long and weigh about 110 pounds. [4]
Testing Hamilton's selfish herd effect, Alta De Vos and Justin O'Rainn (2010) studied brown fur seal predation from great white sharks. Using decoy seals, the researchers varied the distance between the decoys to produce different domains of danger. The seals with a greater domain of danger had an increased risk of shark attack. [44]
These seals are covered mostly by brown or silver fur, with darker coloration around flippers. The color fades throughout the year, and recently molted seals appear darker than the silvery-white crabeater seals that are about to molt. Their body is comparatively more slender than other seals, and the snout is pointed.