South American fur seal: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the South American fur seal lives – recorded in 6 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Arctocephalus australis
Group	Seals, sea lions & walrus
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	6 countries
Continents	Oceania, South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Carnivora
Family	Otariidae

Where does the South American fur seal live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the South American fur seal in 6 countries and territories across Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, Osório.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the South American fur seal endangered?

The South American fur seal’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the South American fur seal?

The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Otariidae, genus Arctocephalus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the South American fur seal

The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. South American fur seals are of least concern on the IUCN Red List. The total population is around 300,000-450,000. Populations are affected by hunting and environmental stressors.Arctocephalus australis have a dark grey or brown fur coat and are sexually dimorphic. Males compete for territory and females to mate with, forming a dominance hierarchy. Breeding season is from October to December, whereas multiple pups are bred each season. South American fur seals are nocturnal, carnivorous hunters that primarily eat demersal and pelagic fish. They are social and often hunt in groups. Communication within the species occurs through a variety of vocalizations, such as guttural threats, barks, whimpers, or submissive calls from the males and growls or high-pitched wails to gather pups from females. Four subspecies may be recognized: A. a. australis (Falkland Island fur seal), A. a. gracilis (South American fur seal), A. a. forsteri (New Zealand fur seal), and an unnamed species (Peruvian Fur Seal).

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article South American fur seal (revision 1378539019), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q649127 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).