Mammals · Carnivora · Otariidae

Juan Fernandez Fur Seal

Arctocephalus philippii

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Arctocephalus philippii is the Juan Fernández fur seal, an eared seal endemic to the oceanic islands of Chile. The sealers of the 18th and 19th centuries killed several million animals for their pelts and it was given up for extinct for decades. A small surviving colony was rediscovered in 1965 and the population has been recovering slowly ever since. It dives deep at night to hunt squid and mesopelagic fish, and breeds in caves and rocky ground that are hard to reach.

Weight

50 kg – 140 kg

Size

1.4 m – 2 m

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanIslandsCarnivore Colonial Ocean Islands Mammal

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Fun facts

It was given up for extinct: after the killing of several million animals there were no records for decades, until a surviving colony was found in the Juan Fernández archipelago in 1965.
It makes night dives of several hundred metres in pursuit of squid rising from deep water.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Rocky coasts and sea caves of the Juan Fernández archipelago and the Desventuradas Islands
Sexual maturity: 5 years
Gestation / incubation: 12 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctocephalus_philippii