South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis, Zimmerman 1783)

Abstract

The South American fur seal is distributed on both sides of South Americaalong the Atlantic and Pacifc Oceans mostly in sympatry with the South Americansea lion. However, there is gap of distribution between 43°S and 29°S in the Pacifccoast of approximately 1600 km. The total population was estimated at 320,000individuals, and the species is considered as Least Concern in the IUCN red list, butthe Peruvian population is classifed as Vulnerable. Genetic and morphologicalcomparisons between the Atlantic and the Peruvian fur seals indicated that theycould be distinct evolutionarily signifcant units. The species is polygynous andsexually dimorphic, with males being larger and heavier than females. Breedingoccurs during the austral summer, from December to early January. Longevity isaround 20 years for both sexes in wild and captive life. The South American fur sealis an opportunistic species that predates mainly on pelagic species of fsh, squids,and crustaceans, some of them of commercial importance. Fur seals were used byaboriginal people as far as 8000 YBP and since the eighteenth century by Europeans,who drove them to the brink of extinction. After the cease of hunting, the stockswere slowly recovering at least on the Atlantic coast. In most of the coastal settlement sites where fur seals occur, they share the places with South American sealions, although there is some differentiation in the use of space. The fur seals preferplaces of diffcult access, rocky areas or more steep, and the sea lions occupy sandyor boulder beaches. At present, there is no major threat for South American furseals, given that the species does not interact with fsheries or salmon farms as SouthAmerican sea lions do.