Male fur seal holding territory, but no females. Zapadni haulout, St. George Island, August, 1996.

Class 1 (shoreline)

Full-grown males apparently attached to "territories" spaced along the water’s edge at intervals of 10-15 meters. Most of these animals are wet or partly wet, and some acquire harems of one to four females between 10 and 20 July. They would then be called territorial males with females (class 3). Class 1 males should not be confused with Class 2 animals, which have definite territories, whereas the shoreline males appear to be attached to such sites but may not be in all cases.

Class 2 (territorial without females)

Full-grown males that have no females, but are actively defending territories. Most of these animals are located on the inland fringe of a rookery: some are between Class 1 and Class 3 males, and a few are completely surrounded by Class 3 males and their females.

Class 3 (territorial with females)

Full-grown males actively defending territories and females. Most Class 3 males and their females combine to form a compact mass of animals. Isolated individuals may be observed at each end of a rookery, on sandy beaches, and in corridors leading to inland hauling grounds. Some territorial males have as few as one or two females. Should these females be absent during counts, their pups are used as a basis for putting the adult male into Class 3 or Class 2.

Class 4 (territorial with females)

Full and partly-grown males on the inland fringe of a rookery. A few animals too  young and too small to include in the count may be found here. Though some Class 4 males may appear to be holding territories, most will flee when approached or when prodded with a pole.

Class 5 (hauling ground)

The hauling grounds contain males from May to late July and a mixture of males and females from then on. The counts include males that obviously are adults and all others that have a mane and the body conformation of an adult. Males included in this count are approximately 7 years of age and older.