Our fur seal eco cruise is one of our visitor favourites here at Jervis Bay Wild. Like our other tours, you get the opportunity to see Jervis Bay in all her splendour. The scenic views of the towering cliffs surrounded by shimmering turquoise waters is a sight that can’t be beat. On the fur seal cruise, you are taken past the seal’s own colony found at Drum & Drumsticks. Sometimes the seals appear to be quite lazy, as they spend a lot of time lying about on the rocks, soaking up the sun in a posture of total relaxation. But when feeding or playing time comes along, you’ll be impressed by their speed and agility in the water.
Curious about the Australian fur seal? Read on for more information on this awesome marine mammal and then be sure to book in for a Jervis Bay wildlife cruise.
Australian Fur Seal Life Cycle
A fur seal’s life begins in the warmth of summer on a rocky coast, where its mother gives birth to it during the breeding season. Just a few days later, she mates again and the reproduction cycle continues. When first born, the baby seal weighs 4kg and is typically all black in colour, soon lightening to a dark grey with a yellowish underside. For the first year of its life, the young fur seal is nursed by its mother, until the time she gives birth to her next pup.
Between 3 and 6 years of age, the female fur seal will begin mating, but the males do not do so until 6 or older. This is because it is only the strongest of mating males (bulls) that wins the females, setting himself up on a rocky shoreline and managing a “harem” of roughly 40 mates. His aggressive defence behaviour begins in October, when he must fend off competing male fur seals with displays of strength and size.
As fully grown adults, female Australian fur seals weigh in at 50-120kg, while the males can reach as heavy as 220-360kg, often two to three times the size of the female. Fur seal life span averages 12-30 years.
Dietary Habits of the Fur Seal
The fur seal can spend many weeks at sea as it hunts for food. It’s main diet includes fish, octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, and the Gould’s Squid is said to be it’s most frequently consumed of the cephalopods. Fur seals are exceptional swimmers with the ability to dive as deep as 500m under water. They are opportunistic feeders, often gathering their sustenance from the sea floor. Their large eyes enable them to see well even in the dim undersea world, and their whiskers assist with sensing what is around them. During mating season, the male bull does not feed, instead focuses its energy on defending its territory from other would-be bulls.
Australian Fur Seal Facts
● In the 1800s, the fur seal was hunted for the fine fur of its outer coat, threatening the fur seal population. The fur seal population dwindled until the early 1900s, when protections were put in place to prevent its extinction.
● Mother seals and their pups can communicate through distinct call sounds. Some studies suggest the ability of the seals to recognise those sounds even after a separation of several years.
● Fur seals are different from standard seals because of the existence of their external ears.
● The world’s 4th rarest species of seal is the Australian fur seal.
Want to see these incredible creatures up close? Come aboard with us on a Jervis Bay eco cruise and discover the life of the Australian fur seal in its own territory.
Sources:
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/322190/australian-fur-seal4.pdf
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/fur-seal/
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=5350
