External ears (pinnae)
Fur seals have visible external ears, a trait shared with sea lions and distinguishing them from true seals.
Fur Seal
Fur seals are pinnipeds with dense underfur, external ears, and long foreflippers, comprising nine species primarily in the Southern Hemisphere and one in the North Pacific.
ArctocephalinaeNorthern fur seal
Species Guide
What to know about fur seals
A clean field guide focused on habitat, identification, behavior, and conservation context without burying the useful parts.
Fur seals are nine species of pinnipeds in the subfamily Arctocephalinae (family Otariidae). They share external ears (pinnae), relatively long muscular foreflippers, and the ability to walk on all fours—traits they have in common with sea lions. Fur seals are marked by dense underfur, which was the primary reason they were hunted commercially. Eight species belong to the genus Arctocephalus and are found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere; a ninth, the Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), belongs to a different genus and inhabits the North Pacific. All fur seals are more closely related to sea lions than to true seals.
Commonly cited pressures include Commercial hunting.
The strongest linked planning options currently surface around destinations such as Cape Town, Bay of Islands, Jervis Bay and countries such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand for divers building trips around fur seals.
Identification
How to identify fur seals
The visual markers divers can use underwater, plus the species most likely to cause confusion.
