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25 December 2009
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Animal fact files
Antarctic fur seal
Arctocephalus gazella

Life span
Antarctic fur seals live for 20 years.

Statistics
Males (bulls) are 1.6-2m in length. Females (cows) are shorter at 1.2-1.4m. Males weigh 90-210kg and females 25-55kg.

Physical Description
The pups are born with black fur, which develops into a grey-brown to light brown coat when they reach adulthood. Females tend to have a creamy-coloured chest.

Distribution
The largest populations are found south of the Antarctic polar front, and 95 per cent of Antarctic fur seals breed on South Georgia.

Diet
The main component of the Antarctic fur seal's diet is krill, but they also hunt fish and squid.

Behaviour
They feed mostly at night, usually diving to 30-40m (although depths of 250m have been recorded).

Males arrive at the breeding site from late November to January. They fight for access to females and a typical harem contains five females.

Reproduction
For about four months after the pup is born, the mother goes through a cycle of feeding at sea for 3-5 days and returning to feed her pup for 1-2 days.

Antarctic fur seal pups are hunted by leopard seals, killer whales are also a threat.

Conservation status
Antarctic fur seals are not considered to be threatened. There are estimated to be 1.5 million individuals, although commercial hunting for fur in the 18th and 19th centuries nearly led to their extinction.

Antarctic fur seal



Antarctic fur seals on beach


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