Cape fur seals live in huge groups of thousands of individuals all along the South-West African coastline. Of their estimated 2 million-strong population, roughly 1.5 million are split between just 26 colonies off the coast of Namibia – most of these are on offshore islands, only 8 colonies are on the shores of mainland Africa.

They eat a variety of marine animals, from anchovies and sardines to squid, crustaceans and even African penguins! They are extremely agile in the water, using their large front flippers to swim and their smaller back flippers to steer their streamline body. They can swim up to around 12mph and dive up to 200m deep as they hunt.

Fur seals display sexual dimorphism – this is when the males look different to the females. The average male cape fur seal is 250kg, but they can get to around 350kg, about 4-5 times larger than the females. This is because males fight each other for territory – a successful male can hold a section of the beach large enough for 50 females!

Seals and fur seals often get mistaken for one another, but there are a few ways to tell the difference. Fur seals have much larger front flippers that they use to walk on land, whilst seals use their bellies to move in an action known as “galumphing”. Fur seals and sea lions also have external ear flaps that seals do not.

The cape fur seal is currently a least concerned species as they are found in huge populations across a large area of coastline, however they are still under threat from human activity. Overfishing can have a detrimental effect on their numbers, and each year around 60 thousand fur seals are hunted in Namibia alone!