Female Cape fur seal scratching with her flipper.
The Cape fur seal is the most common species to be found in southern African waters. Like all seals they have streamlined spindle shaped bodies, with limbs modified as flippers. Males (called bulls) are much larger than females and have thick powerful necks; they have thick fur coats that are uniform in colour varying from dark brown to a lighter golden brown. Cows tend to be a more brownish-grey in color. The pelt consists of guard hairs and a thick, woolly underfur and is essentially waterproof with insulation provided by the air trapped in the coat. The bulls have coarse outer hair on the neck and head. The small ears have scroll like external flaps. When moving on land the hindlimbs are moved forward under their bodies to walk, the front flippers bend out sideways and slightly backwards. While swimming the propulsion is provided by the front flippers with the hindlimbs having no active role.
Size: 4700px × 3775px
Location: Skeleton Coast, Namibia, Africa
Photo credit: © Miguel Cuenca / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, animalia, arctocephalinae, arctocephalus, breed, breeding, brown, cape, carnivora, chordata, class:, coast, colony, cross, family:, female, fin, flipper, fur, genus:, kingdom:, lying, mammal, mammalia, namibia, order:, otariidae, phylum:, pinnipedia, pusillus, resting, scratching, sea, seal, seaside, skeleton, sleeping, subfamily:, suborder:, thinking
