Distribution and Population
The Antarctic fur seal breeds in summer on islands ranging from South Georgia at 70° W round to about 80° E (Kerguelen Islands). Additionally, there is a breeding ground at Macquarie Island, 165°E - south of New Zealand. All these islands lie between 45° S and 60° S. The animal's winter range is not known. During these long dark months, the seal spends its time almost surely at sea close to the Antarctic ice.
A population count is due in 2007 or 2008, and estimates can only be very rough until this is carried out. Best guesses suggest there may be two to four million individuals breeding at South Georgia and 15,000 at Heard Island. The concentrations at South Georgia are the densest aggregations of marine mammals on earth. These populations are believed to have grown to such levels because the removal of whales by the intensive whaling of the 20th century left a surplus of krill. Other islands in Antarctic waters may have a few hundred to a thousand such seals.
Read more about this topic: Antarctic Fur Seal
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