| Juan Fernández Fur Seal | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Pinnipedia |
| Family: | Otariidae |
| Subfamily: | Arctocephalinae |
| Genus: | Arctocephalus |
| Species: | A. philippii |
| Binomial name | |
| Arctocephalus philippii Peters, 1866 |
|
| Juan Fernández Fur Seal range | |
The Juan Fernández Fur Seal (Arctocephalus philippii) is a fur seal that breeds on the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile. It is the second smallest of the otariid seal (the closely related Galapagos Fur Seal is smaller still). Discovered by navigator Juan Fernández in the sixteenth century, the seals became a target for sealers in the Maritime Fur Trade era. They were thought extinct mid-way through the twentieth century until a population of 200 was found. The population was protected and has grown quickly. There are now believed to be at least 10,000 animals on and around the island.
The seals have a relatively robust body and a long, slender and pointed snout. They have stubby foreflippers and hindflippers, and a mane of long coarse guard hairs from the top of the head to the shoulders. Adult males are dark brown to black, but the guard hairs can have yellow or tan tips. The males also have a more bulbous nose than the females and juveniles as well as being longer than the adult females. The adult females have an overall brown colour but the tips of the guard hairs may fade to yellow or tan. The females are less robust at the chest, neck and shoulders than the adult males. When pups are born they are black, but they become lighter during the first few years.