Classification
Seals make up the families Otariidae, Odobenidae, and Phocidae of the order Pinnipedia. The northern fur seal is classified as Callorhinus ursinus.
Distribution
The only eared seal in the Antarctic, the Fur Seal occurs in the South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands.
Appearance
The males grow to 7 feet (2m) in length and weigh 220 pounds (100 kg), while the females are much smaller. The male, or bull, is mostly dark brown in color, shading to gray at the shoulders. Reaching maturity at around seven years, the bull attains a length of about 2.1 m (6.9 ft) and a weight of 180 to 270 kg; the female, or cow, matures at three years and reaches a weight of 40 to 60 kg.
Behavior
Fur Seals can be quite aggressive and it is wise to give them a wide berth, especially in the mating season.
Varieties
Two genera are recognized: one resides in the southern hemisphere, the other in the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Six to eight species of the southern fur seal are recognized; the best known is found in Tasmania and the southern coasts of Africa and Australia.
Breeding
Large, older bulls have harems of as many as 40 cows and battle off rival males until defeated. Immature and bachelor males congregate on beaches removed from the breeding grounds. As winter approaches, the fur seals migrate southward to latitudes of Baja California.
Human Impact
This species was decimated in the nineteenth century by British and American sealers who pursued them for their skins within four years of their discovery in 1819 over 320,000 pelts were taken from the South Shetland Islands. Today the fur seals are making a rapid comeback and are regularly seen farther and farther south on the Antarctic Peninsula.