Juan Fernandez Fur Seal

The Juan Fernandez Fur Seal (Arctocephalus philippii) is a fur seal that breeds on the Juan Fernandez Islands off the coast of Chile. It is the second smallest of the pinnipeds (the closely-related Galapagos Fur Seal is smaller still). Having been discovered by navigator Juan Fernandez in the sixteenth century, the seals became a target for sealers in the seventeenth. There were thought extinct mid-way through the twentieth century until a population of 200 was found. The population has grown quickly. There are now believed to be at least 10,000 animals on and around the island.

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