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Antarctic Fur Seals Caught on Camera
A remarkable digital snapshot of massive numbers of Antarctic fur seals is helping British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists carry out a wildlife census on the subantarctic island of South Georgia. It is estimated that up to 4 million fur seals, 95% of the world’s population, breed on this small island in the Southern Ocean.
In a unique collaboration between the Royal Navy’s ice patrol vessel, HMS Endurance, BAS and the BBC Natural History Unit, a scientific research survey has been supported using the Gyron high-definition aerial camera system pioneered for the highly acclaimed series ‘Planet Earth’.
It is the first time that this state-or-the-art technology has been used to gather information for an assessment of fur seal numbers - information that is crucial to the management of Southern Ocean fisheries. Once back in the lab the BAS scientist will use the photographs to count the number of seals.
Both whales and seals of the Southern Ocean were severely exploited in the early part of the 20th Century but are now protected. Fur seals, once hunted to near extinction have made a dramatic recovery, particularly in the last decade. Whale populations, however, have been slow to recover. This has a marked effect on the Antarctic marine ecosystem.
HMS Endurance Captain Nick Lambert said,
‘Despite persistent bad weather and occasionally difficult flying conditions our Lynx helicopter pilots were able to survey 380 seal breeding beaches covering 200 miles of rugged coastline. South Georgia hosts up to 4 million fur seals each breeding season - an awesome sight. I’m delighted to be involved in this successful collaboration.’
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