NORTHERN FUR SEAL 



The fur seal of the North Pacific is commercially the most valuable 

 seal in the world. Every year during June and July, under the supervi- 

 sion of the Fish and Wildlife Service, 60, 000 to 70, 000 young males are 

 killed for their furs. The annual harvest on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 

 has a gross value of about $5, 000, 000. The governments of the United 

 States, Canada, and Japan prohibit their nationals from killing seals at 

 sea. 



Intensive sealing activities have twice brought the seal herd to the 

 verge of extinction. Since 1911, however, careful conservation has al- 

 lowed the herd to reach its present size of a million and a half animals. 



Natural mortality among fvir seals in their early years is high. In 

 1954 over 100, 000 dead pups were counted on the Pribilof Islands. Most 

 of these died as a result of hookworm infestation. Many more succumb 

 to the rigors of their first year at sea. Of the total pups born each year 

 it is estimated that more than 70 percent die before reaching their third 

 birthday. 



Description 



The adult male ranges in length from 7 to 8 feet and weighs up to 

 600 pounds; the adult female, 5 to 5-1/2 feet and up to 130 pounds; the 

 pup at birth about 25 inches and 12 pounds. 



At sea, the dark brown color of the adult male contrasts with the 

 silvery gray of the young male and the femaleo On land the gray coat of 

 the female soon turns to a dirty brown. As a fur seal rises partly out 

 of the water to watch a passing ship, a light patch across its chest is a 

 good identifying mark. 



At birth the pup is shiny black. During the late summer, at an age 

 of six to eight weeks, the first coat is shed and is replaced by a gray 

 pelage similar to that of the older animals, though brighter. 



The voice of the fur seal female and young is a sheep-like bleat; of 

 the adult male a sustained, deep-throated bellow. 



The maximum length of life is not known but marked animals aged 

 18 and 21 years have been observed on the Pribilof Islands. 



