Ruby+V

media type="custom" key="21268614"Explorer - Ruby Vanloenen<3

Kingdom: Animalia Subphylum: Vertebrata

Subclass: Eutheria

Order: Pinnipedi

Family: Otaridae

Genus: Arctocephalus

Species: Pusillus Doriferus

Adult males are much bigger seals than adult females, with large heads and heavily muscled necks and chests. Bulls are usually dark grey/brown, with a mane of coarse hair on their neck and shoulders. The actual name for the male fur seal is a Bull.

They are slender, silvery-grey on the back, with a creamy-yellow throat and chest, and a chocolate brown belly. The actual name for a female fur seal is a Cow.

Young seals of both sexes have grey-brown backs and yellowish belly fur. The dense coat is made of woolly underfur and long, coarse outer hairs to trap air which waterproofs and insulates the seal. Like all seals, they moult each year replacing their old fur with new growth. A layer of fat assists with warmth and streamlining. Young seals leave their mother after ten to eleven months. The actual name for a young fur seal is a Pup.

Adult male seals can grow to 200-225 cm and weigh 220 kg to 360 kg. Adult females average 125-170 cm in length and weigh between 50-120 kg. Young pups continually grow and usually leave their mother after ten to eleven months.

Females give birth to a single pup which is fed on thick, rich milk. Pups are born in November-December, and usually leave 10 to 11 months later, although some cows may suckle a pup for up to four years. Once a female gives birth for the first time, she is practically in a continuous state of pregnancy/lactation for the rest of her life, with maybe only a few weeks off between weaning last season's pup and having another.

In the wild their preferred habitat, especially for breeding, are rocky islands which include boulder or pebble beaches and gradually sloping rocky ledges. At the Zoo the enclosure was different because it had no sea life in it apart from the actual seals. The base of the swimming enclosure is made out of concrete and painted blue unlike in the wild where there is sand and vegetation. The whole enclosure is really different to the wild because it is all manmade. In the wild they have the whole ocean to swim in but in captivity they only have a pool much smaller than the ocean.

The Australian fur seal eats mainly fish and cephalopods (squid, octopus and cuttlefish). Of the nineteen fish species known to be consumed, Jack Mackerel, Redbait and Leatherjackets form the main prey items. Of the 11 known cephlapod species eaten, the most frequently consumed is the Gould's Squid.



<span style="color: #0481ec; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">They are a large marine mammal, they are intelligent, playful, good swimmers and you can snorkel with them. They are really fun to watch because they are cool and they also have really funny moustaches.