40p - Antarctic Fur Seal
40p - Antarctic Fur Seal
45p - Antarctic Fur Seal
45p - Antarctic Fur Seal
The Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella), formerly known as the Kerguelen fur seal, is found throughout the sub-antarctic islands on the Southern Ocean. Fur seal belong to a family of seals known as the Otariidae, or 'eared' seals. These include sea lions and fur seals, and comprise 14 species around the world, although there are no representatives in the North Atlantic. On land, they are able to rotate their flippers under their body, taking the brunt of their body weight on their fore flippers. In the ocean, fur seals are streamlined to facilitate motion through the water, their large flippers acting as paddles and rudders to provide the power and maneuverability which they need both for catching prey and escaping from predators.
Antarctic fur seals were made almost extinct by commercial sealing for their luxuriant fur in the 18th and 19th centuries. The peak of that industry was in the early 1800's. Only the Chinese knew the secrets of removing the outer layers of guard hair while leaving undamaged the valuable underfur from which they manufactured felt. Sealers swarmed southward, filled their ships with seal skins and became rich in the markets of Canton. By 1822, few seals remained, and perhaps as many as 1.2 million seals had been killed. It is thought that a small population survived, probably on the Willis Islands, and spread over to Bird Island at the eastern tip of South Georgia and down to the Antarctic Peninsula. They are still increasing by nearly 10% per year and the population on South Georgia is now 1.8 million (over 95% of the world population).
Fighting bull seals - 45p
The breeding season at South Georgia takes place from November to January. Bulls come ashore early to compete for breeding that will eventually contain about 10 females. Frequent and aggressive fighting occurs between individuals, with ritualised boundary displays and vocal threats. Females give birth within days of arriving at the colony, usually in early December. They suckle their pups for four months, returning to the sea every few days to feed. Adult bull fur seals weigh 200kg, while cows weigh only 38kg. Bulls spend inordinate amounts of energy discouraging females from leaving their territories and may stay ashore for up to 10 weeks. Territorial bulls leave the beaches after the middle of January and are replaced by young males. The pups depart to sea in March and April.
Blonde fur seal - 45p
The fur seal gets it's name from the extremely fine, dense fur for which the species was ruthlessly hunted. Like other seals, and many other mammals, the fur consists of two types of hair: long, coarse hairs that lie over and protect the short, fine underfur. In fur seals, there are 20-40 underfurs to each guard hair, compared to 6-10 in other Antarctic seals. Adult males are silvery-grey to brown or chestnut, and have a thick mane and longer hair. Females are grey to brown with creamy throats and chests. A colour variation that occurs in both sexes and all ages is the virtually complete absence of pigment in the guard hairs. These animals appear white or yellowish, and are colloquially known as 'blondies'. However, they are not true albinos, as pigment is developed in the underfur and the naked skin areas. This blonde colour phase occurs in only a very small percentage of births.
Two young males - 40p
In late summer, adult males can be seen hauled out on ice floes along the ice-edge zone in the Weddell Sea. In addition, many young males haul out along the beaches of the northern Antarctic peninsula during this time. Young seals of most species, and particularly young males, are capable of dramatic deviations from their population's normal migratory route and schedule. They regularly wander hundreds or thousands of kilometres outside the normal limits of the species, turning up in highly unlikely places. A few Antarctic fur seals have even been sighted in recent years at the Juan Fernandez Islands, well over 3000 nautical miles from South Georgia.
Fur seal diving for krill - 40p
The main food of Antarctic fur seals at South Georgia is krill. Fish, squid, and even some birds, including penguins, are also eaten, especially outside the breeding season. Antarctic fur seals usually dive to depths of 30-40 metres for an average of 2 minutes, but can exceed depths of 300 feet and remain submerged for 5 minutes. Some have suggested that large reductions of krill-eating competitors, particularly whales, may have encouraged the rapid growth of fur seal populations. Thus, Antarctic fur seals may be more numerous now than they were before the sealers depleted them. Fur seal predators include both leopard seals and killer whales.
Technical Details
Designer : Kim Chater
Printer : BDT International Security Printing Ltd
Process : Lithography
Stamp Size : 30.56 x 38.00mm
Sheet Format : 50 (2 x 25)
Perforation : 14 per 2cms
Paper : CA Watermark
Release Date : 25 October 2002
Values : 40p, 40p, 45p, 45p
