Juan Fernández fur seal

Juan Fernández fur seal in the water

The Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii ) is a very rare species in the Southern fur seals.

Features

Bulls are up to 2 m long, females about 1.40 m. The weight of an adult male is 140 kg, ie a cow at 50 kg. In appearance these fur seals same other members of the genus. The cops wear a mane with silver hair.

Dissemination

The only colony lives on the Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile belonging to one, but 670 km from the South American coast remote archipelago.

Stock development

Travelers of the late 18th century appreciated the stocks along the coasts of both islands Alejandro Selkirk and Robinson Crusoe on four million seals. British sealers were then sent to the islands. Occasionally at the same time anchored fifteen ships off the island, while the hunters masse seals killed for their fur. As every year, about 250,000 fur seals were killed, broke the populations together in no time. 1824 were thought to be extinct species. Similar to the Guadalupe fur seal of the Juan Fernández fur seal may have only survived because some animals hidden in caves remained undetected.

In 1965 the species was rediscovered and immediately placed under strict protection. The colonies on both islands include 12,000 seals again today and are constantly growing.

Threats and conservation

The Juan Fernández fur seal is listed in the Red List of endangered species by the World Conservation Union IUCN as Near Threatened ( Near Threatened ). Like all species of the genus he is a kind, the world II requires a limitation of trading according to the CITES CITES appendix. The European Union and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation 338/97 exacerbated the protection status, lists in Appendix A, and thus speaks of a trade ban. This regulation has a direct influence on the Member States of the European Union. The Federal Republic of Germany leads the way in the Federal Nature Conservation Act protected as strict.