Rare subantarctic fur seal suns himself at Kidds Beach
An unusual visitor was spotted at Kidd’s Beach basking on the sand on Tuesday.
A subantarctic fur seal, which breeds on the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Gough and Marion in the Southern Ocean, was clearly thousands of kilometres from home but nevertheless seemed to be enjoying the Eastern Cape.
East London Museum scientist Kevin Cole said the male seal showed no signs of physical trauma.
“I went out immediately to document it. Yesterday [Wednesday] it had left the site and moved further west and residents of Kidd’s Beach alerted me late yesterday afternoon as to it locality,” Cole said.
“I went out this morning [Thursday] to check on it but we could not find it. It may haul out again somewhere in the vicinity.”
Cole said seals often came out the ocean to rest before continuing on their travels.
“Thankfully this animal has survived a long journey away from home uninjured,” Cole said.
The seal can be identified by a characteristic tuft of raised hair on the head and its paler face and underbody.
SA’s Cape fur seals have a uniform body colouring, which is usually dark greyish-black to greyish-brown.
Subantarctic fur seals feed on squid, fish, krill and penguins. They can dive to a depth of about 200m and can remain underwater for up to 6.5 minutes. Adult males can measure up to 1.81m with an average weight of 131kg.
The females are far smaller, weighing between 50 and 55kg.
“Most of the population of subantarctic seals, about 200,000 of a total approximate population of 350,000, are from
Gough Island which is 3,422km away.
“They can live up to 25 years,” Cole said.
Should one came across a live marine mammal, it is best to keep your distance.
“Though seals look harmless, they can react aggressively when threatened and move very quickly,” Cole said.
Sightings can be reported to the museum or East London aquarium.
In September 2019, a young male subantarctic fur seal was euthanised at Chintsa East after being badly injured in what looked like a propeller accident.