Fur Seal or Sea Lion?-Peru (1 Viewer)

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cwbirder

Well-known member

• Aug 15, 2013

• #1

Attached are several images with different individuals in each photo. These were taken in Paracas, Peru, in January of this year. I am having a hard time figuring out how to tell the difference between southern fur seal and southern sea lion. From what I can tell, both species can be present. Size is obviously important, but there is not much of a sense of scale in these photos. Let me know what you think.

Thanks.

 

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Farnboro John

Well-known member

• Aug 15, 2013

• #2

I'm prepared to be told I'm wrong, but I reckon these are all Fur Seals.

Southern Sealion adult males really do look lion-like with huge square muzzles and a monstrous mane-like ruff. In the middle photo what appears to be a male has a smallish pointy muzzle. The other pix depict females and these just don't to me look sealion -like.

John

 

kitefarrago

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #3

I've only seen Northern and Guadelupe Fur Seal, and Steller's Sea Lion with good views, and have no personal experience with either species under consideration.

Studying Shirihai and Jarrett, it seems that South American Fur Seals have nothing like as pointy a face as the ones I'm more familiar with, and I think that must make it harder to separate the females from Southern Sea Lions. The photos here don't show the flipper structure too well, which would give another pointer.

Nonetheless I'd agree with John that the dark animal in the Pic 2 shows a male, and that this doesn't look like a Sealion. However, the animal in Pic 1 has a fairly blunt muzzle as well as tiny ears, and strikes me as a credible candidate for Southern Sea Lion, and the same features then make me wonder whether the female in Pic 2 might not also belong to the same species.

(Googling for images seems remarkably useless, showing obvious images of the other species...)

Andrea

 

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cwbirder

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #4

One of the reasons I am having trouble with this ID is that I can't find many good pictures where I can trust the source. The ones I have found look very similar to me and I really have no good experience dealing with marine mammal ID.

If it helps, here are two pictures of sea lions from the same day and same trip. The first one shows a profile view of a male and what I presume to be two females. The second, I am guessing, shows some immature males, a mature male, and some females.

Thank you both for your thoughts.

 

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Alan henry

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #5

All are Southern Sea Lions without doubt.

I will post some pictures of Fur Seals later for you to compare.

Cheers

Alan

 

Last edited: Aug 16, 2013

Farnboro John

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #6

Well there you go. I'm certainly not arguing with Alan.... I can only say rather feebly that I would have been fine with the second batch of pictures!

In fact I quite like the silhouette one. Look forward to Alan's pictures.

John

 

Alan henry

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #7

Here are some images of Southern Fur Seals showing the obvious longer ear and pointed snout.

Cheers

Alan

 

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  South American Fur Seal (Berkeley Sound) 2.jpg

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  South American Fur Seal (Cape Pembroke) 02.jpg

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  South American Fur Seal (Steeple Jason) 5.jpg

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Last edited: Aug 16, 2013

Alan henry

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #8

And some of Southern Sea Lion.

Cheers

Alan

 

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  Southern Sea-Lion (Green Island) 2.JPG

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  Southern Sea-Lion (Port William) 1.jpg

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  Southern Sea-Lion (Port William) 3.jpg

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kitefarrago

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #9

Thanks for the images - they're considerably more useful than the illustrations I've been consulting. It's also nice to see that the fur seals do like like other fur seals I've seen, after all.

Andrea

 

Farnboro John

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2013

• #10

Lordy, look at those ears. Thanks Alan, very educational.

John

 

C

cwbirder

Well-known member

• Aug 18, 2013

• #11

Alan-

Thanks for your photos. They really show the difference in the ears. I agree with Andrea; they are much more helpful than the ones I have looked at.

Thanks to you all.