Northern fur seals occur from southern California north to the Bering Sea and west to the Okhotsk Sea and Honshu Island, Japan. During the summer breeding season, most of the worldwide population is found on the Pribilof Islands in the southern Bering Sea, with the remaining animals on rookeries in Russia, on Bogoslof Island in the southern Bering Sea, and on San Miguel Island off southern California. At the rookeries, adult males set up territories in May, females arrive in June and give birth to one pup a few days later. Most pups are weaned at about 4 months in November. After the breeding season, adult males from the Pribilof Islands migrate to the Gulf of Alaska , while adult females and juveniles migrate through the Aleutian Islands into the North Pacific Ocean, often as far south as the Oregon and California offshore waters. Many pups may remain at sea nearly 2 years before returning to their rookery of birth. Pups weigh up to 5.4 kg at birth; adult males average 2.1 m in length and can weigh up to 275 kg. Adult females are much smaller; they weigh 30 to 50kg.
- Biology
- Distribution and breeding sites in U.S.
- Life history
- Estimating abundance
- Summer foraging trips
- Winter migration
- El Niño impacts
- Entanglement in marine debris
- Northern fur seal bibliography
- Northern fur seal Photo Archive
- 2012 NFS pup production and adult male counts on Pribilof Islands
- 2011 NFS pup production estimate on Bogoslof Island
- 2011 NFS adult male counts on the Pribilof Islands
- 2010 NFS pup production and adult male counts on Pribilof Islands (updated 12/5/2012)
- 2009 NFS adult male counts on Pribilof Islands
- 2008 NFS pup production and adult male counts on Pribilof Islands (updated 4/24/09)
- 2007 Pribilof Islands Adult Male Counts
- Current Research Projects by the California Current Ecosystems Program
- Current Research Projects by the Alaska Ecosystems Program
- Publications: search AFSC database for Northern Fur Seals
- Posters: search AFSC database for Northern Fur Seals
- Quarterly Reports
- Fur Seal Archives
- Fur seal investigations: 2006-2007, 2004-2005, 2002-2003, 2000-2001, 1999, 1998, Full List
- TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, J. R. THOMASON, K. A. CALL, T. K. ZEPPELIN, and R. CARUSO.
2012. Mass, length, and sex ratios of northern fur seal pups on the Pribilof Islands, 2010, p. 26-40. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2010-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-241.
- TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, J. T. STERLING, M. WILLIAMS, and J. L. BENGTSON.
2012. Population assessment of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 2010-2011, p.8-25. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2010-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-241.
- ORR, A. J., S. R. MELIN, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. Status of the northern fur seal population at San Miguel Island, California, during 2010 and 2011, p.41-58. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2010-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-241.
- SHARON R. MELIN, JEREMY T. STERLING, ROLF R. REAM, ROD TOWELL, TONYA ZEPPELIN, ANTHONY J. ORR, BOBETTE DICKERSON, NOEL PELLAND, and CAREY KUHN.
2012. A Tale of Two Stocks: Studies of Northern Fur Seals Breeding at the Northern and Southern Extent of the Range. AFSC Quarterly Report Feature (April-May-June 2012) 11 p. (.pdf, 2.83 MB -- or -- .pdf with embedded video, 22.6 MB) Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Northern Fur Seal publications
- Can Northern Fur Seals Tell Us About the Location of and Seasonal Changes in the Bering Sea Cold Pool?
431KB Online.
- Use of BAS Geolocation Tags to Study Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) Winter Migrations
3.08MB Online.
- Ultrasonographic Assessment of the Corpus Luteum at the end of Embryonic Diapause in Free-ranging Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus)
793KB Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Northern Fur Seal posters