Australian fur seal

How it lives

It rests and breeds on rocky islands and outcrops in Bass Strait, on four islands off Victoria and five off Tasmania. Females breed from about 3 to 4 years and have one pup a year, born from early November to late December. Pups are nursed for about 8 to 10 months. Males take about 9 years to hold a territory. At resting sites the seals lie close together, often touching.

Where it goes

Seals breed on rocky islands in Bass Strait and rest on haul-outs along the Tasmanian and mainland coasts. At Montague Island in New South Wales, more than 1,000 fur seals can be present in winter and spring, falling to about 200 after December, and they do not stay long at one spot. Females alternate 3 to 4 days feeding at sea with 2 to 3 days nursing ashore.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List for the species Arctocephalus pusillus as a whole, which also includes the African subspecies. The Australian form was hunted heavily from 1798 to 1825, and sealing stopped in Australia in 1923. Numbers are recovering: a count in 2007 found 21,882 live pups, similar to 2002, with three new breeding sites, and growth of about 5% a year was recorded since the 1980s. The largest colonies are Seal Rocks off Phillip Island (5,660 pups in 2007) and Lady Julia Percy Island (5,574 pups). Phillip Island Nature Parks says about 20,000 seals use Seal Rocks, about a quarter of the population, and that the population is about half of its original size. Estimates differ by source and year. It is listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales.