The fur seal is a pinniped marine animal belonging to the eared seal family. These cute and smart animals make excellent circus performers, surprising children and adults with their effortless agility. But how much do we know about how they live in the wild? 
Biologists identify eight different species of fur seals. Only one of them is found in the northern hemisphere - the northern fur seal. Fur seals are members of the eared seal family and therefore have small, visible ears. And their hearing is excellent. 
Fur seals spend about half of their time on the open sea. They even know how to sleep, drifting on the surface of the water, turning over on their backs.
Thick fur- much denser than that of land animals - saves them from the cold. Their coat consists of long, coarse outer hairs and an undercoat that traps air.
As additional thermal insulation, cats have a subcutaneous layer of fat. Adult males boast an increased layer of fat and fur on their necks, which help them avoid serious injury from the teeth of competitors. 
Thanks to its streamlined shape and powerful fins, fur seals can dive to depths up to 200 m. These animals have good eyesight, which allows them to find prey even at depth, in poor lighting conditions.
In addition to vision, they have long sensitive whiskers, vibrissae, which allow them to navigate even in muddy water. Unlike earless representatives of the true seal family (seals, elephant seals, etc.), fur seals can use their hind flippers as paws, raising their body above the ground. On land, these animals can run at speed up to 20 km/hour. In the water, these natural swimmers move much faster and more gracefully. 
For most of the year, fur seals can swim on their own or live in small groups in areas where there is plenty of food. But when the mating season comes, these animals gather on the shore in colossal numbers.
The lifespan of fur seals in the wild is from 12 to 30 years depending on the type. Fur seals are carnivores. Their diet is based on fish (such as herring, mackerel, anchovies and salmon), and also includes squid, krill and seabirds.
Females can begin breeding between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Males begin to participate in the breeding process only after the age of six. 
After spending most of the gestation period in the open sea, females come ashore shortly before the birth of their only calf. 6 – 10 days after this event they are ready to mate again.
Pregnancy lasts from 11 to 12 months, and about the first 3 months are spent on the so-called delayed implantation. This means that the actual fertilization of the egg occurs a long time after contact with the male.
- Having given birth to her first child, the female continues to be in a state of lactation throughout her life.
- A young fur seal drinks its mother's milk for almost a year. To provide for the baby, the female has to leave him on the shore every now and then and go hunting. Over time, she leaves more and more often and for longer periods of time.
- Females easily recognize their children by voice and smell. Thanks to these signs, they are able to recognize each other even after years of separation.
- The cubs begin to eat solid food long before the mother finally stops feeding them. Therefore, from a very young age, they spend most of their time playing with their peers and practicing their hunting skills in shallow water.
- When the breeding season arrives, the males are the first to arrive at the rookeries, where new generations of fur seals are born year after year. Each of them tries to take the best place on the shore, demonstrating their strength: stretching to their full height, pushing and growling threateningly. Often such competition ends in a bloody fight and even the death of one of the rivals.
- Males fight each other to establish dominance over a certain territory and gather around themselves harems of up to 40 females.
- Vigilantly guarding their territory on the beach, males cannot go to sea and do not eat anything during the entire mating season. During this time they lose about 20% of their weight.
- Male fur seals are always significantly larger than their female counterparts. For example, northern fur seals exhibit very significant sexual dimorphism: males are 30–40% larger and more than 4.5 times heavier than adult females.
- The northern one is the largest of all fur seal species.
- These animals are found throughout the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to Southern California, including the Bering Sea.
- Their population now numbers approximately 1.2 million individuals. Moreover, the majority of them, about 60–70%, are born on Pribilof Island, located in the Bering Sea. Small rookeries are located on Bogoslovsky Island in the Aleutian Islands, as well as on the Kuril and Commander Islands.
Sharks, killer whales and sea lions- the main natural enemies of the fur seal. But there are other dangers in his life. Northern fur seals came to the brink of extinction in the 19th century due to ruthless extermination for their valuable fur. But in 1911 hunting was banned, and gradually the population recovered. Similar stories happened with other types of cats. Fortunately, now the number of seals is not causing concern.
The northern fur seal is a predatory mammal, unique in its nature, one of seven species living in the northern hemisphere.
This species may at first glance resemble Antarctic fur seals.
Their skin is covered with thick and warm woolly fur. Considering that the demand for its skin is still high these days, more than 9,000 thousand of these beautiful creatures are exterminated per year in Russian territorial waters.
This species of animal first came to the attention of humans in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-one near the Commander Islands. Then, a little later, their rookery was discovered on Pribilof Island.
Appearance
The male's body weight is 5 times that of the female, it can vary from 187 to 255 kg, and the female's weight barely reaches 50 kg. The length of the body of the cleaver, as adult males are also called, reaches 2 meters, the body length of the female is a maximum of 1.5 meters.
Young individuals of this animal species have a very different body color from adult individuals. In young people it is lighter, and in adults it is darker.
The male has a thick collar on his neck. A large volume of subcutaneous fat is necessary in order to maintain the constant body temperature required by the body in cold and sometimes icy water.
It also gives it a streamlined shape, thereby making this sea animal an extremely fast swimmer. For about one thousand newborn puppies, an albino puppy is born, but as studies have shown, they are not adapted to life in the wild due to a complete or partial lack of vision.
Place and habitat
This representative of the order “pinnipeds” prefers to live in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, and can also be found on Tyulenem Island and on several Kuril Islands.
However, that’s not all; its range extends from the Sea of Okhotsk to the shores of the United States.
Habitat
These marine inhabitants spend most of their lives in the cold waters mentioned above.
Lifestyle
Males predominantly lead a non-nomadic lifestyle, while females lead a migratory seasonal lifestyle. Adult males spend the bulk of their personal time protecting their territory from annoying competitors laying claim to its huge rookery.
Males swim a short distance from their permanent habitat during feeding, while females may be absent for months - spending all this time in search of food.
The females head to places rich in fish; the path there may be long, but nothing can stop these wonderful hunters. They seem to know that their efforts and stubbornness will be generously rewarded.
This type of fur seal is not only an excellent swimmer, but also move quickly on land unlike its brother - the common seal.
The back flippers help him in this, which he bends under his body and uses them as legs. They, in turn, slightly lift the body, and the cat has the opportunity to move in leaps over a short distance.
A characteristic feature of this species of animals is that while swimming they make circular movements with their forelimbs, and their rear flippers are used as a steering wheel.
Hunting and food
When female seals arrive in areas with large concentrations of fish, they begin their feast. They feed only at night, this helps them save their already lost energy and strength.
Almost all types of fish that our hero hunts float to the surface at dusk, where they become easy prey for an indomitable sea predator.
The main diet includes not only fish, but other marine organisms, such as:
- crustaceans;
- cephalopods;
They detect their victims, with the help of vibrissae, which pick up the vibration of the water, then the nerve endings transmit the signal to the animal’s brain. The signal contains information about the coordinates and approximate distance to the victim.
The victim, against the backdrop of a fur seal, which has excellent vision, hearing, smell, and maneuverability, turns out to be absolutely powerless and easy prey for him.
On weekdays, they try to have a good rest, if possible, get a little sleep, if the most formidable enemy called by the common people is not nearby; or killer whale.
Reproduction
The rut begins in mid-May, the loppers arrive first at the place where they determine their rookery and actively defend it. The queens arrive in late May or early June. Each adult male waits for the female to come ashore in order to forcibly drive her away to his harem.
During courtship, cleavers emit a sharp growl, by the way, you can listen to it by clicking on this.
The head of the harem is very jealous of his partners. After 3 - 4 days from the moment of arrival in the harem, the female brings offspring, the newborn baby is born head first, its body color is often dark, its weight is 2 kg, the length of its tiny body reaches 50 cm.
Having recovered from childbirth, the female mates with the owner of the harem and goes to sea for 5 - 7 days to refresh herself. During this time, in search of food, it can cover more than 200 thousand kilometers.
Having returned, she hurries to feed her child nutritious, fatty and healthy milk. At three months of age, the baby enters water for the first time. Puberty for males occurs at 5 years, and for females at 2 years.
Red Book
In the territorial waters of the United States, fishing for these animals has been prohibited since nineteen eighty-five. However, in the waters of the Russian Federation they continue to be exterminated in large quantities for the sake of valuable fur and expensive skins..
Fortunately, the total number of livestock is stable. Scientists have not recorded the disappearance of the taxon.
Lifespan
In the wild, the northern species of fur seal lives no more than 25 years.
- During mating rituals, a large percentage of young creatures die due to the lack of sufficient space for lambing and the life of the harem.
- The diving depth during hunting does not exceed 200 meters.
- There are 63 different types of fish in the diet, but the most commonly consumed are seven or eight species.
- Fishermen put a stigma on this type of animal, saying they were guilty of the mass extermination of salmon families; it later turned out that this accusation was groundless.
- The most ferocious and bloodthirsty enemy for a cat is: the great white shark.
If you feel comfortable with us, we invite you to join our group. In it you will get acquainted with different and interesting animals..
We wish you good luck, see you again!!!
Fur seals are those wonderful animals that spend a significant part of their existence in the waters of the ocean, while their reproduction occurs only on land.
Northern fur seals, like all other pinnipeds, have a relatively large, elongated body and a small head.
Another distinctive feature of these animals is that their ears and tail are almost invisible. But even though the ears of these animals are very small, they still have auricles.
Fur seals are those wonderful animals that spend a significant part of their existence in the ocean waters
Fur seals are a vulnerable species and as a result are listed in the International Red Book.
The fur of these animals is hard and thick. The most common colors are brown and black. The eyes are dark and large.
Habitats and lifestyle
All populations of these mammals are divided into southern and northern. Their territorial habitat is considered to be the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Austria. Among other things, they also live on the southern coast of the African continent.
A characteristic feature of seals is that for the purposes of safety and reproduction they form densely populated colonies. They prefer to be located on the coasts, whose waters are rich in food.
These mammals hunt in the water, but prefer to relax exclusively on the shore. In some cases, the hunt can be quite long and the seals do not return to land for three days, but even this is not a problem for these mammals, since they can even sleep in the water. They feed mainly on fish and squid. In order to get food they sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometers.
Almost all species of seals migrate in search of food and suitable territory, so the movement of large groups of these animals is seasonal. The need to reproduce and breed offspring also plays an important role.
Regardless of where and how fur seals live, and what they eat, they always prefer to hunt exclusively alone. Among other things, many scientists agree that these animals have very high intelligence.
Fur seals are pinnipeds, which belong to the eared seal family. It is these animals that make simply amazing circus performers, as they are not only distinguished by their attractive appearance, but also by their intelligence and effortless dexterity. To date, biologists have been able to identify eight varieties of these animals:
- Far Eastern;
- South American;
- New Zealand;
- Galapagosian;
- Kerguelensky;
- Cape;
- Guadeloupean;
- subtropical.
Far Eastern
This species is a classic representative of sea cats. You can meet these animals in the north of the Pacific Ocean, all the way to California and southern Japan. The body length of this type of seal is about 2.2 meters, and they weigh about 320 kilograms.
Far Eastern fur seal
The body of these seals is shaped like a large drop of water with a very small head and wide-set eyes. Representatives of this species have silky and thick fur, which can be of completely different shades. Thanks to the fur and a thick layer of fat, the body of this animal is reliably protected from hypothermia.
South American fur seal
Males reach a length of about two meters, while they weigh about 200 kilograms. In accordance with the habitat, it is customary to distinguish:
- seals living on the Falklead Islands;
- seals living on the coast of South America.
Both species love to establish rookeries on rocky shores, in grottoes and caves. Unlike some others, this species is numerous and is not listed in the Red Book.
New Zealand
The species is grey-brown in color and is found on the coast of New Zealand, as well as in the west and south of Australia. Sometimes they can also be found on sub-Antarctic islands.
They grow up to 2.5 meters, while their weight is about 180 kilograms.
Galapagos
This type of seal is considered the smallest, as the animals grow only up to 150 centimeters in length and weigh no more than 64 kilograms.
The coat color of these animals is gray-brown. Their distinguishing feature is that they do not migrate, but spend their entire lives near the Galapagos Islands. They spend more than seventy percent of their time on land. They prefer to feed on cephalopods and fish.
Kerguelensky
These eared seals resemble a large dog in appearance. Their peculiarity is also that, despite their impressive size and heavy weight, they can, by pulling their hind flippers under their body, lift their weight only with their forelimbs.
They reach two meters in length and weigh about two hundred kilograms, like all other varieties, females are distinguished by the fact that they are much smaller than males, their weight does not exceed seventy kilograms, and their body length varies from 1.1 to 1.3 meters .
Cape
This species of seal is found in South Africa. They prefer to live on the coast of the Namib Desert and are the only marine inhabitants that live in the desert.
Externally, they are no different from other varieties. These animals grow up to 2.5 meters. It is thanks to such impressive sizes that this species is recognized as one of the largest.
Guadalupe
Can be found in Mexico on the island of Guadalupe. Males are much larger and grow up to two meters in length.
The coat is almost black or dark brown. A distinctive feature is that the back of the neck has a yellowish tint.
Subtropical
Representatives of this species grow of medium size and weigh about 160 kilograms with a body length of two meters.
This species lives in Amsterdam and the South Atlantic. Representatives of this species live on average about 24 years. As for the coat, males differ in that their backs range from dark gray to black, while females have a lighter gray color.
Males of this species of mammals are polygamous and try to create a kind of harem. At the same time, females very often choose their other half, based on criteria such as heredity.
Pay attention! According to statistics, only 25% of females mate with the owner of an formed harem, while the rest prefer to go to a distance and mate with a male who is not a relative.
Fur seals become sexually mature animals only at the age of three. But this does not mean at all that from this age they can already mate and produce offspring. In order for this mammal to gain the right to mate with a female, they must reach the age of seven, since only at this time do they become powerful and strong.
Males of this species of mammals are polygamous animals and try to create a kind of harem
Of course, it’s much easier for females in this matter, since they have absolutely no need to grow and build muscle mass. All they have to do is wait until the males sort things out among themselves and then all that remains is to submit to the winner. During the mating season, these animals prefer to sit on loungers. At the same time, the struggle between two males for the opportunity to mate with a female is sometimes very fierce and leads to severe injuries or even death of the enemy. Despite this, the life expectancy of this species of eared seal is about thirty years.
But, unfortunately, no one is immune from rivalry, and the strongest gets the right to continue their family line. In the process of such natural selection, males organize a kind of harem from their females, which he very diligently protects from any attacks by other males. Moreover, absolutely all the females in such a harem are in complete obedience to their owner and do not even have the right to leave a certain territory without permission.
Quite often, males attempt to kidnap females from someone else’s harem, and the female herself suffers most of all, since during such an operation the male tries to get close to the female as unnoticed as possible and, grabbing her with his teeth, pull her along with him. At the same time, the owner of the harem, having clearly noticed such a disorder, for his part tries to pull the lady back. Such tug-of-war is a very tough spectacle, during which men are not at all interested in the safety of the fairer sex. During such tugging, females very often receive very serious injuries, sometimes incompatible with life.
As for the production of offspring, they feed their young for no more than four months. Moreover, during this period of time the female can systematically go to sea and continue to actively feed. It is precisely because of this that the mother can feed the baby only about ten times during this period, but no matter how strange it may seem to them, this is quite enough.
Most seals are born black, but there are exceptions when a white baby is born. Such mammals are very noticeable against the background of all the others.
Babies are mobile and active animals that are constantly trying to escape somewhere. Therefore, not only females, but also males watch over their offspring, who, in addition, also protect them from the encroachment of various predators.
After the kids reach a certain age and development, this mainly happens at the moment when they begin to swim, then the whole company goes to sea in order to subsequently return here next year.
Fur seals are of particular interest to children; they are often concerned about everything connected with them, how much they weigh, who they are or mammals, what they eat, and much more. On the Internet you can find a huge number of different interesting facts for children about fur seals.
Fur seals belong to the order of pinnipeds and are members of the eared seal family.
Like all pinniped mammals, fur seals have an elongated body, a short neck, a small head, and flipper-shaped limbs. The tail of these mammals, like their ears, is almost impossible to notice. But even though the cats’ ears themselves are too small, they still have auricles.
There are large eyes on the head, they have a dark shade and are always filled with moisture. The animal's hair is very short, but quite thick. Fur color is often brown or black
The size of the animal is not small at all, but males are always much larger than females, about 4 or 5 times. Males weigh from 100 to 250 kilograms, and females weigh from 25 to 40 kilograms.
The entire population of these animals on the planet is divided into Northern fur seals and Southern fur seals. Their habitat is the Pacific Ocean, from the Alaska Peninsula in the north to Australia in the south. In addition, one of the species of these animals lives on the coast of the southern part of the African continent.
The fur seal prefers the coast, and can be located both on a rocky shore and in flat areas.
Fur seals are herd animals, they gather in huge colonies and all settle in one place. Sometimes in places where such a concentration of cats live, there is literally nowhere for an apple to fall. The shore is a resting place for these mammals, and hunting takes place in the water. Often, the hunt is protracted – up to three days. But this is not a problem for fur seals, because they can even sleep in the water!
These mammals are migratory animals. Their movements are associated with breeding, because during the breeding season they require cold waters, which contain a lot of the food they need.
Although fur seals live in herds, each one prefers to hunt on his own, that’s their nature! Scientists believe that these representatives of pinnipeds have fairly high intelligence.
Fur seals hunt mostly fish. Sometimes they can eat cephalopods. Thanks to the special streamlined body, these animals are quite fast underwater swimmers.
The mating season for animals occurs in the spring (in the northern hemisphere it is May, in the southern hemisphere it is November). With the onset of mating season, male fur seals try to immediately mark their territory. They do this with a loud roar.
Octopus is the fur seal's favorite food.
Males occupying a “high position” and having the largest sizes are located in the center of the rookery. The protection of the territory takes place very seriously and is not always friendly: fights also arise between rivals. A male fur seal gathers something like a harem around itself. He has several females in mind at once (up to 20 individuals!) After the mating season, pregnancy occurs.
For a whole year, the expectant mother carries her offspring, and after giving birth she carefully protects the baby, because the “father of the family” behaves absolutely unceremoniously towards small cats: he may simply not notice and crush the baby with his huge body.
The weight of a newborn cat is approximately 2 kilograms. When babies are 2 months old, they begin to learn to hunt and go into the water. Until this time, mother's milk serves as food for them.
Niramin - Jan 30th, 2016
Northern fur seals (lat. Callorhinus ursinus) are warm-blooded animals that swim in the ocean in winter along the coasts of the Kuril Islands, Japan and the USA. In the spring, seals swim north to the rookeries where they were born. These are the northern islands in the Pacific Ocean, owned by Russia and the United States. Seals make rookeries on rocks and large stones.
Another name for the seal is the eared seal, it has a body in the form of a huge drop of water with a small head and wide-set dark brown eyes, a pointed nose with hard long whiskers, small ears are almost invisible. Instead of legs, seals have wide flippers, which help them swim well in water, but on land they move in clumsy short jumps. Males weigh 300 kg or more, and females are 4-5 times less. The body length of males is up to 2.2 m, and in females – up to 1.4 m.
Fur seals have thick, silky fur of silver-gray and other shades, up to brownish-black. Fur and a thick layer of fat protect the body from hypothermia.
In May, males crawl out to rookeries, the strongest of them occupy the best places. Later, females join them to give birth to offspring. Usually one black, big-headed, bug-eyed baby is born, weighing 4-5 kg. Mom is near him all the time, except for a few days every time she swims into the ocean to find food, feeds him to his fill with rich milk and protects him from various dangers. The female feeds only her baby until 3-4 months, and if the mother dies, then her baby is also doomed to death. Dad is not involved in upbringing.
From 3-4 weeks, the young generation, under the supervision of their mothers, begins to learn to swim and dive. At 2 months, the baby's down molts and the animals are covered with beautiful silver-black fur.
Until late autumn (November-December), the seals are at the rookery, and then rush into the ocean to feed and stock up on fat until the next season. In the ocean, mother is also inseparable from her child. This continues for up to a year. He weighs up to 15 kg per year and is already completely independent.
At 3-4 years old, young females become adults and are ready to reproduce, and males only at 7-8 years old.
Eared seals feed exclusively in the ocean on fish, squid, and octopuses. Males eat up to 15 kg of food at a time.
Fur seals live 15-20 years.
See the gallery of photos of the northern fur seal:
Photo: Northern fur seal rookery. 
Video: Navy SEALs
Video: Young bachelors play (Northern Fur Seal)
Video: Navy SEALs rock out