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0382 pnp2 nature notes seals v4
- 1. phillip island nature park Nature Notes Phillip Island Nature Park PO Box 97, Cowes, Victoria, 3922 5951 2800 schoolbookings@penguins.org.au www.penguins.org.au otariids (eared seals) phocids (true seals) As you look out over Bass Strait from The Nobbies, you see the rocky outcrop known as Seal Rocks. It is a special place where a large colony of Australian fur seals frolic, live and breed. WHEN IS A SEAL NOT A SEAL? Seals belong to a group of animals called pinnipeds. They are mammals which means they have hair and feed their young on milk - just like humans. Fur seals are otariids (eared seals). They have tiny ears and use both pairs of flippers when‘walking’on land - unlike phocids (true seals) who have no ears and can’t use their rear flippers for‘walking’. Australian fur seal New Zealand fur seal AUSTRALIAN OR KIWI There are 2 species of fur seals that can be seen in the waters around Seal Rocks. Australian fur seals are the main species but occasionally a New Zealand fur seal may also be seen here. Can you tell the difference? New Zealand fur seals have a slightly steeper forehead, more whiskers and pointier front flippers amongst other less discernable differences. AUSTRALIAN FUR SEALS at Seal Rocks
- 2. phillip island nature park Nature Notes Phillip Island Nature Park PO Box 97, Cowes, Victoria, 3922 5951 2800 schoolbookings@penguins.org.au www.penguins.org.au Australian sea lions are another of the‘eared seals’. However, they are not seen in the waters around Seal Rocks. The main differences are that the outer two digits on its flippers are longer (they are the same size in fur seals), short hair with a lack of dense under-fur, broader, flatter snout than fur seals and are slightly larger than fur seals. SEAL STATISTICS (average) MALE (Bull) Length 200 – 225cm Weight 220 – 360kgs Colour dark brown to brownish grey with a lighter coloured‘mane’on the back. FEMALE (Cow) Length 125 – 170cm Weight 36 – 110kgs Colour light brown to pale grey with a fawn or cream throat Newborn (Pup) Length 73cm Weight 7- 8 kg Colour black when newborn up to 3 - 4 months then moult into silver, grey pelage. IT’S A SEALS’LIFE Seal pups are born in late spring (Oct-Nov), each cow has a single pup. Pups are dependant on their mother’s milk until they are 8 - 10 months old. Female seals mature at about 3 - 4 years old and may raise a pup every year until they die. On average a female Australian fur seal may live to about 20 years of age. Males mature when they are about 6 years of age but are not big enough to hold breeding territories until they are about 9 years of age. Male Australian fur seals live to about 15 - 18 years of age. A DAY AT SEAL ROCKS Seals of all ages need to feed then rest ashore for several days. The number of seals seen at Seal Rocks varies with time of year, tide, temperature and time of day. For example if conditions are rough at sea more seals come ashore to rest, but in calm and hot weather more seals go swimming. Seals spend their days swimming, rolling and diving for squid, cuttlefish and small fish. Australian fur seals do not eat Little Penguins. They have excellent underwater vision and can dive to 200m. It is thought they are able to detect vibrations from prey with their sensitive whiskers. AUSTRALIAN FUR SEALS at Seal Rocks
- 3. phillip island nature park Nature Notes Phillip Island Nature Park PO Box 97, Cowes, Victoria, 3922 5951 2800 schoolbookings@penguins.org.au www.penguins.org.au THE YEAR AT SEAL ROCKS October Females go on long foraging trips, big males return to joust for territories. A large breeding male may attract up to 9 females to become his‘harem’. November Females return and give birth to a single pup, on average there may be about 9 females per single territorial male. December Peak of pupping. Males will mate with the females in their‘harem’. In late December the breeding season ends and the large breeding males leave Seal Rocks. January Pups learn to swim, females undertake short trips returning to suckle pups. February Pups growing strong and their fur begins to turn brown. March Moulting begins, many seals rest ashore for long periods. April to July Pups growing strong, seals coming and going. August Pups learning to catch fish for themselves September Pups starting to be weaned from their mother’s milk. SEAL ROCKS Seal Rocks provides an important breeding area and nursery for around 25,000 Australian fur seals. That is about 25% of the total population at one place. At any given time there will be between 3 - 8000 seals. A HARD LIFE ON THE ROCK In the early 1800’s seals were hunted throughout the Bass Strait region including Seal Rocks. Sealers became the first Europeans to live in Victoria in order to pursue their quarry. By 1825 these sealers had all but decimated the seal population at Seal Rocks. For over a century seals suffered at the hands of the occasional hunting party and fishermen who perceived the seals as a threat to their productivity. In order to protect a dwindling seal population the Government created a wildlife reserve at Seal Rocks in 1928 and seal hunting was banned in Victorian waters. It has taken a long time for the seal population to recover but unfortunately the seals are still under threat from human activity. Pollution, outboard motors, commercial and recreational fishing tackle occasionally ‘tangles’with seals, often resulting in serious injury or death. Phillip Island Nature Parks regularly help these seals by removing entanglements when visiting seal rocks. RESEARCH Since 1966, small research teams have visited Seal Rocks to study the seal’s reproductive behaviour and diet. Many seals were tagged for identification. Phillip Island Nature Parks continue to study the diet and foraging behaviour (using satellite tracking devices) of the Australian fur seal at Seal Rocks. A CLOSE UP ON THE ACTION You can view the seals from The Nobbies (binoculars essential). The Visitor Centre has remotely operated cameras and large screens which project a close up of the seal colony and the seals. For a close up and personal wildlife experience, take a charter boat out to Seal Rocks. Phone Wildlife Coast Cruises for details (03) 5952 3501 NOTE: If you see an injured seal, please leave it where it is and inform the Phillip Island Nature Park rangers. Please call 59512800. Even a sick seal can inflict a nasty bite. The seals best chance for survival is to rest then return to the sea when it is ready. AUSTRALIAN FUR SEALS at Seal Rocks