Earth Almanac: May/June 2007

Seals With a Kiss

Now, along rocky islands of the Pacific Rim, from Japan to California, there’s frenetic activity as northern fur seals haul out for mating. The big-necked males, some weighing 600 pounds, arrive first, barking, posturing, fighting, staking out territories. Then come the much smaller females, pregnant from the previous season. They’ll give birth within 48 hours, and less than a week later will mate again. Then, within several days, they will leave for extended feeding forays that may last 10 days and take them 100 miles from the beach. When a female returns she will find her pup by listening for its distinctive voice. (In one study, female fur seals were seen to recognize their pups after four years of separation.) The fur seal derives its name from its luxurious coat, which has 300,000 hairs per square inch and which was so coveted by humans that the species only narrowly escaped extinction at the hands of 18th-century sealers.