What are New Zealand fur seals doing in Australia? Shouldn they go home?
New Zealand fur seals are native to both Australia and New Zealand so their name isn’t very accurate. Are Australian and South African fur seals the same? Yes and no. Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) are the same species as the South African or Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) but because they are separate populations that never interbreed, they are considered distinct subspecies. The Australian subspecies is a bit larger in body size. It is thought that a group of South Africans migrated to Australia during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. These days it is mostly human South Africans that continue the tradition.
