Food 



Fur seals feed particularly on small, schooling 

 fish such as anchovy, capelin, and herring but 

 will feed on whatever species are available. Squid 

 is a mainstay of their diet almost everywhere. 

 Anchovy, hake, squid, saury, and rockfish are 

 principal food items off California and Oregon. 

 Off Washington, herring, rockfish, and anchovy 

 are leading foods. Herring and walleye pollock 

 are important food items off Southeastern Alaska. 

 Capelin and sand lance are part of the seals' diet 

 in the Gulf of Alaska, the Aleutian Island passes, 

 and the Bering Sea. Salmon occurred in 28 of 

 the 1,829 stomachs containing food, collected in 



1958 and 1959, in the northeast Pacific. Twelve 

 of the 28 salmon-containing stomachs were from 

 seals taken in Alaska. Forty-eight species of fish 

 and 8 species of squid were found in seal stomachs 

 collected off North America from 1958 to 1961. In 

 the same period 24 species of fish and 9 species of 

 squid were identified from seals in the western Pa- 

 cific where lantern fishes are a very important food. 



At sea, seals feed primarily at night because 

 some of the important food species rise to the 

 upper water layers during darkness. Where food 

 is available during the day, seals feed then also. 



Physical Characteristics 



Compared with other seals and sea lions, the 

 fur seal has unusually large flippers. The large 

 flipper area is useful for cooling, especially on 

 land, since dense fur effectively insulates other 

 parts of the body. The fur, which contains over 

 300,000 hairs per square inch, is so impermeable 

 to water that the skin remains dry even when 

 the seal rubs or scratches itself in the water. 

 Molt is incomplete because part of the hairs re- 

 main fixed in the skin more than one year. Body 

 temperature is about 100° F. Overheating from 

 unusual exertion or sunshine when on land causes 

 obvious discomfort. Body temperatures above 

 107' F. result in heat prostration and usually 

 death. 



The eyes are relatively large and capable of 

 gathering enough light for night activity. The 

 nostrils can be closed and the external ears are 

 small, tightly rolled cylinders with a narrow, waxy 

 orifice that prevents the entrance of water. A 



fish or squid held by the 36 teeth has no chance 

 of escape. The lower incisors fit into a notch 

 in the upper incisors and the upper molar and 

 premolar teeth interlock with the lower, making a 

 highly efficient bite. 



The question "How much does a fur seal 

 weigh?" has many answers. A 10-to 12-pound 

 pup eventually becomes either a mature female 

 weighing 95 to 110 pounds or a bull weighing 

 from 400 to over 600 pounds. Three-year-old 

 males as selected for the commercial kill average 

 62 pounds, and 4-year-old males 78 pounds. The 

 size difference between male and female is appar- 

 ent even before birth. In early May unborn 

 males are about an inch longer and V2 pound 

 heavier than females. At birth an average male 

 is 26 inches long and a female an inch shorter. 

 A large adult female measures 56 inches from 

 the tip of its nose to tip of tail and a bull 84 

 inches. 



