Typical head-down posture of Guadalupe fur seals.
The recent history of Arctocephalus townsendi is both a sobering account of wanton killing and greed and an encouraging tale of resilience and recovery. Although it once numbered perhaps 200,000 across its 1500 mile range :: from the Revilligigedos and the Baja peninsula to California's Channel Islands :: the Guadalupe fur seal nearly passed into oblivion before being recognized by science. At one time, Guadalupe Island alone was home to probably 30,000 fur seals, so many that its western shore has long tracts of waterline lava rocks polished smooth by centuries of hauling-out fur seals. With the onset of North Pacific whaling in the late 1700's, the seals' beautiful fur pelts :: black outer fur over an underfur so dense that the seal's skin remains dry :: became liabilities, and the seals were taken in vast numbers by Russian and Aleut hunters to adorn Chinese royalty and Parisian society. | Typical head-down posture of Guadalupe fur seals.
The recent history of Arctocephalus townsendi is both a sobering account of wanton killing and greed and an encouraging tale of resilience and recovery. Although it once numbered perhaps 200,000 across its 1500 mile range :: from the Revilligigedos and the Baja peninsula to California's Channel Islands :: the Guadalupe fur seal nearly passed into oblivion before being recognized by science. At one time, Guadalupe Island alone was home to probably 30,000 fur seals, so many that its western shore has long tracts of waterline lava rocks polished smooth by centuries of hauling-out fur seals. With the onset of North Pacific whaling in the late 1700's, the seals' beautiful fur pelts :: black outer fur over an underfur so dense that the seal's skin remains dry :: became liabilities, and the seals were taken in vast numbers by Russian and Aleut hunters to adorn Chinese royalty and Parisian society. | The Guadalupe fur seal's dark, richly colored coat blends into the surrounding rocky coastline, making them difficult to see from offshore.
Scammon wrote of Cedros Island, near the Pacific coast of Baja California, that its "surrounding shores teemed with sealers, seal elephant and sea-otter hunters." The greatest numbers of Guadalupe fur seals were taken before 1820, and by 1883 the seal was considered "commercially extinct." In 1894 sealers located a group of 15 fur seals at Guadalupe Island :: all that were known to exist :: and killed every one. Three years later, four weathered and broken skulls collected from the ruins of a once busy Guadalupe Island sealing station provided the description for a species "new to science," but by then the Guadalupe fur seal was assumed to be gone forever. | Two males in a territorial dispute. During mating season Guadalupe fur seals are fiercely territorial above and below water.
The Guadalupe fur seal as a species probably survived annihilation at the hands of sealers by virtue of the many caves and grottoes surrounding Guadalupe island, and their habit of ranging far offshore to hunt in deep waters. In 1949, George Bartholomew encountered a solitary Guadalupe fur seal at San Nicholas island, the first of its kind seen in 21 years. Encouraged by this discovery, Carl Hubbs journeyed to Guadalupe island the next year and found 14 fur seals there, including pups. | Guadalupe fur seals have large eyes enabling them to hunt in deep water and at night.
Since 1949, Guadalupe fur seals have been seen in increasing numbers and frequency at the island, which was declared a pinniped sanctuary in 1975. Recently, Guadalupe fur seals have been seen most years in the Channel Islands hundreds of miles to the north of Guadalupe, a sign the species is beginning to spread over its former range. A happy development indeed. | A typical Guadalupe Island boulder-strewn bottom. | Fur seals were killed for their beautiful fur coats, composed of two layers to efficiently trap air and conserve body heat. An outer coat of coarse fur hides an inner layer of softer, denser fur. As this fur seal swims, twists and turns it leaves behind glistening trails of bubbles squeezed from its two-layered coat. | Unless one is in the water with them, this is about all one can expect to see of a resting, floating Guadalupe fur seal. As with other pinnipeds, flippers are held out of the water in an effort to control the body temperature (i.e., thermoregulation). | In addition to Guadalupe fur seals (A. townsendi) I have dived among Northern and Galapagos fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus, A. galapagoensis) and have seen both species adopt this head-down posture as well, and suspect that it may be a natural resting position for fur seals that share their waters with large sharks. | | Pup Guadalupe fur seal. A robust colony, including pups, has been seen at the Islas San Benito, an island group over a hundred miles east of Isla Guadalupe and much closer to the Baja California coast, continuously since at least 1995. This is an exciting development, an indication that the Guadalupe fur seal is regaining some of its former, pre-sealing territory.
A robust colony, including pups, has been seen at the Islas San Benito, an island group over a hundred miles east of Isla Guadalupe and must closer to the Baja California coast, continuously since at least 1995. This is an exciting development, an indication that the Guadalupe fur seal is regaining some of its former, pre-sealing territory. |
