Brown fur seal

A pack of South African fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus)

The South African Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus) is a way of Southern Fur Seals. Its naming is imprecise, since he does not live in the South African coast, but also in Australia.

Features

With a length of 250 cm (males) and 180 cm (females ), this is the largest species of the genus; The Latin species name means pusillus unfortunately, literally "the smallest" so that sometimes, given the size nonsensical name " Zwergseebär " has for this type.

Dissemination

The subspecies A. p. pusillus founded colonies on the Atlantic coasts of South Africa and Namibia (eg at Cape Cross ). Outside the mating season wander individual animals up the coast to Angola and can be found on the sub-Antarctic Marion Iceland one.

The other subspecies A. p. doriferus, the Australian fur seal - the German name can lead to confusion with the also based in Australia New Zealand fur seals. His colonies live exclusively on nine islands in the Bass Strait. Outside the mating season, the seals disperse to other Australian and Tasmanian coasts.

Stock development

After this style in the 19th century had been brought to the brink of extinction, the stocks have now recovered significantly. There are over 1.5 million fur seals at African coasts - especially on the coast of Namibia, where individual colonies may include more than 200,000 animals ( Cape Cross ).

South African fur seals are still hunted in Africa. But unlike earlier it is a controlled hunting a specified number of young males. It will no longer be exclusively processed the skins, but also the flesh and fat. In Namibia, 2010-2012 annual hunting quotas of 86,000 animals have been established.

Formerly on the Australian coasts lived hundreds of thousands of fur seals of this kind; up to the 1940s, the almost extinct stock was again increased to 25,000 animals today at 50,000.

Threats and conservation

The South African Fur Seal is listed in the Red List of endangered species by the World Conservation Union IUCN as not threatened ( Endangered ).

Nevertheless, you can find him like all kinds of its genus Arctocephalus in CITES Convention CITES Appendix II listed, whereby the trade is limited worldwide. The European Union takes this restriction in the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation ( EC) No 338/97 Appendix B. Due to this regulation, all EU Member States are automatically obliged to protect. This is reflected in turn in the Federal Republic of Germany in the Federal Nature Conservation Act down, where the species is known to be particularly protected.