The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) breeds on the coasts of Chile, Peru and Argentina. The total population is around 250,000.
The population of South American fur seals in 1999 was estimated at 390,000, a drop from a 1987 estimate of 500,000. Although overall species numbers are healthy, the downward trend is causing some concern. Uruguay has the largest numbers of seals along its coast, numbering over 200,000.
Read more about South American Fur Seal: Physical Description, Habitat, Subspecies
Famous quotes containing the words south, american, fur and/or seal:
“Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one. To be able to recognize a freak, you have to have some conception of the whole man, and in the South the general conception of man is still, in the main, theological.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
“They are a curious mixture of Spanish tradition, American imitation, and insular limitation. This explains why they never catch on to themselves.”
—Helen Lawrenson (1904–1982)
“The pleasure of jogging and running is rather like that of wearing a fur coat in Texas in August: the true joy comes in being able to take the damn thing off.”
—Joseph Epstein (b. 1937)
“Shut not so soon; the dull-eyed night
Has not yet begun
To make a seizure on the light,
Or to seal up the sun.”
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674)