ANIMALS – MAMMALS – SEALS – ANTARCTIC FUR SEAL (ARCTOCEPHALUS GAZELLA)

Animals - Mammals - Seals

Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Pinnipedia
Family : Otariidae
Subfamily : Arctocephalinae
Genus : Arctocephalus
Species : A. Gazella

Description:

The Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus, and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. As its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is distributed in Antarctic waters. Around 95% of the world population breeds at the Island of South Georgia. It is named after the German naval vessel, the corvette SMS Gazelle, which collected the first specimen from Kerguelen Island. The species is also known as the Kerguelen fur seal.

This fur seal is a fairly large animal and has a short and broad snout compared with others in the family. Adult males are dark brown in color. Females and juveniles tend to be grey with a lighter underside. Color patterns are highly variable, and some scientists believe some hybridisation with subantarctic fur seals has occurred. Pups are dark brown, nearly black at birth. About one in 1000 Antarctic fur seals are pale 'blonde' variants.

Males are substantially bigger than females. Antarctic fur seals grow up to 2 m (6.5 ft) long and weigh 91 kg (201 lb) to 215 kg (474 lb). Males live for about 15 years and females up to 25.

Antarctic fur seals appear to act alone when foraging and migrating. Males breed polygynously; a strong male may have more than a dozen female partners in a single season. Territories are established on breeding grounds in October to early November, when the musty-smelling males are extremely aggressive in defense of their harems. Females gestate for just over a year - giving birth in November or December. Pups are weaned at about four months old. Juveniles may then spend several years at sea before returning to begin their breeding cycles.

The usual food supply is krill, of which each Antarctic fur seal eats about a ton in a year. Due to the enormous and growing populations of these seals, their food is a significant proportion of South Georgia's krill stocks.

Binomial Name:

Name : Arctocephalus gazella
Taxonomist : Peters
Year : 1875
Subspecies : None, or no data available
Synonyms : None, or no data available

Conservation Status by IUCN:

Status : Least Concern

Has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated but not qualified for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (prior to 2001) conservation dependent.

Philatelic Issues

2008 – Uruguay – Stamp 2 of 2, from Spring Series

Issue information:

Country: Uruguay
Date: October 7th, 2008
Printed: 10.000 Copies
Type: Stamp from Series of 2 Stamps
Value: UYP 20

Stamp: Rectangular
Size: 35 mm. x 22 mm.
Perforation: Circular
Gum: Water Activated