Subantarctic Fur Seal

Arctocephalus tropicalis

The Subantarctic Fur Seal is one of the smaller Fur Seals, and it is also one of the most "tropically" located. They live closer to the Equator than than other Southern Hemisphere relatives do, though they don't quite make it up to the literal tropics... which makes their species name a little misleading.

As with most seals, there is some difference in size between the males and females. Males tend to grow about 2ft longer than the other sex, and can weight three items as much (300lbs vs. around 100lbs). Both sexes do share a similar look, sporting creamy colored faces and chests. However, males are a dark brown over the rest of their bodies, while females are more grey.

Subantarctic Fur Seal

During the breeding season (which begins around September/October), the males haul ashore and stake out territories that they defend. The females eventually follow, choosing a male's territory to reside in. There, she will give birth to her pup that she got pregnant with the previous year, and will with the resident male about a week or two after. Subantarctic Fur Seals have delayed implantation, so though she may have mated in December, the female will not actually be pregnant until April or May. Pups live with their mothers until the next one is born, and though the males may leave after breeding season ends, the mother/pups groups will always stick close to the rookery in order to nurse. Fun fact: the milk that the mothers give to their pups contains 39% fat, which is a lot compared to the 5ish% in human milk!

Subantarctic Fur Seals were in trouble back in the early 19th century-- they were hunted pretty extensively for their pelts. Luckily, the hunted died down and enough Seals remained to allow the population to rebound. There are now around 300,000 individuals, and they are listed as being of Least Concern.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Southern Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans
Size : Male body length up to 6.6ft (2m), female up to  4.5ft (1.4m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Otariidae -- Genus : Arctocephalus -- Species : A. tropicalis

Guadalupe Fur Seal

Arctocephalus townsendi

We almost lost the Guadalupe Fur Seal. They were hunted commercially during the 1700s and 1800s, and were believed to be extinct by the beginning of the 20th century. Luckily, some survived and the species has been revived. The population is now nearing 7,500. Though they have been rebounding, they still remain the rarest of the Fur Seals.

Guadalupe Fur Seals breed exclusively on Guadalupe Island, off of the Pacific Coast of Mexico. The location is a protected sanctuary. When not breeding, the seals have occasionally been found up towards California and the Channel Islands.

Guadalupe Fur Seals exhibit incredible sexual dimorphism. Males can weigh nearly 4 times more than the females! However, females tend to live longer. Their life expectancy (around 23 years) is close to double that of a males (only 13 years).

During the mating season males will protect territories and mate with all females inside of their range (usually 4-12 in total). Interestingly, many of the seals will breed in caves rather than on the beaches. One theory is that the hunting of the past drove them to hide.

Fish and Squid make up the Fur Seal's diet. And though they are not truly migratory, they will make round trips that measure hundreds of miles in order to find food. They hunt mainly at night, and will dive to depths of around 55ft (17m).

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IUCN Status : Near Threatened

Location : Guadalupe Island, Mexico
Size : Length up to 7ft (2.2m) for males, 5ft (1.5m) for females. Weight up to 415lbs (188kg) for males, 110lbs (49kg) for females

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Pinnipedia -- Family : Otariidae -- Genus : Arctocephalus -- Species : A. townsendi

Caribbean Monk Seal

Captive Monacus tropicalis

The Caribbean Monk Seal is the only Pinniped to have ever gone extinct due to human involvement. They also have the distinction of being the only Caribbean Seals, and one of the very first animals described by Columbus in the 15th century (his crew killed and ate eight of them).

Caribbean Monk Seals once swam the waters of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. They were large seals, measuring nearly 3m long. Like with many Pinniped species, the males were larger than the females. They fed on fish, octopuses, and crustaceans.

Caribbean Monk Seals were hunted for their oil, and were killed my fishermen who didn't want to compete with the large predators. It didn't help that the seals were very slow on land, not very aggressive, and could be easily hunted. The last officially spotted Monk Seal was seen in 1952 at Seranilla bank between Jamaica and the Yucatan. Interestingly the species wasn't considered endangered by the US Government until 1967, when it was already way, way too late.

Spottings popped up here and there over the decades, but none could be scientifically confirmed. The IUCN listed them as extinct in 1996. In the 2000s, searches to locate any remaining Seals turned up nothing, and they were declared extinct by the US Government in 2008. Sadly, the two other Monk Seal species, found in Hawaii and the Mediterranean, are on the sharp decline towards extinction today.

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IUCN Status : Extinct since the 1950s

Location : Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico
Size : Length up to 8ft (2.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Pinnipedia -- Family : Phocidae -- Genus : Monachus -- Species : M. tropicalis

Australian Sea Lion

Neophoca cinerea

The Australian Sea Lion is a sedentary Pinniped found off of the southern and western coasts of Australia. They breed on beaches and offshore islands, and rarely stray far from the area in which they were born. Australian Sea Lions are the only species within their genus, and they are also one of the most endangered Pinnipeds in the world.

Back in the 18th century, when Australia was first colonized by Europeans, the Sea Lions were hunted extensively for their hides and oil. The population plummeted and didn't receive any national protection until the 1970s. There are now around 14,000 individuals left, but habitat interference and fishing net entanglement continue to be threats.

Luckily, many of the breeding beaches are receiving protection, and the breeding cycle for the Australian Sea Lion is a rather interesting one. The season lasts for about 5 months, but because the males are unable to continuously protect their harems, they only come ashore for 4 weeks at a time. When they are with the females, the males are incredibly aggressive toward other males, and they will sometimes kill young pups that are not their own.

Females are pregnant for almost 18 months, and will breed again almost immediately after giving birth. However, there is some debate over how long the true gestation period actually is. It is generally agreed that there is delayed implantation, but the length of the delay is unknown. Periods of 3 months, 6 months, and even 10 months have been suggested.

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IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : Southern Australia
Size : Body Length up to 8ft (2.5m), Weight up to 660lbs (300kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Pinnipedia -- Family : Otariidae -- Genus : Neophoca-- Species : N. cinerea

Crabeater Seal

Lobodon carcinophagus

The Crabeater Seal is an incredibly abundant species that can be found throughout the Antarctic waters. It is estimated that there are literally millions, if not tens of millions of these guys swimming around, which is a huge contrast to some of the other Seals we've talked about that are on the brink of extinction.

What makes Crabeater Seals so successful? Well, they have incredibly specialized teeth that allow them to strain out Krill and other small critters. (Interestingly, they don't eat crabs!) Those tiny crustaceans are very abundant in the Antarctic waters, giving the Seals a huge food source. They are able to dive down several hundred meters in search of prey, and can hold their breath for over 10 minutes. (Though dives are typically much shorter and more shallow)

Crabeater Seals also have a pretty unique family group. Most seals mate, and then the male leaves and has nothing to do with the pup and female. Crabeater males hang around and defend the female and her pup until the pup is completely weaned. Another interesting tidbit about these guys is that the males and females are very similar in size, unlike the extreme sexual dimorphism found in some other Seal and Sea Lion species.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Antarctica
Size : Body Length up to 7.5ft (2.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata--  Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Superfamily : Pinnipedia -- Family : Phocidae -- Genus : Lobodon-- Species : L. carcinophagus