---
title: "South American Fur Seal"
description: "Arctocephalus australis — Mammiferi. The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/south-american-fur-seal
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# South American Fur Seal

> Arctocephalus australis — Mammiferi. The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

- Scientific name: *Arctocephalus australis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 1377
- Wikidata: [Q649127](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q649127)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41748](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41748)

## Names

- en: South American Fur Seal
- de: Südamerikanischer Seebär
- es: Oso Marino Austral
- fr: Otarie à fourrure australe
- nl: Zuid-Amerikaanse zeebeer
- pt: Lobo-marinho-sul-americano
- pl: Kotik południowy

## Countries with the most observations

AR (382), CL (256), UY (185), PE (177), BR (90), FK (24)

## Summary

The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. South American fur seals are of least concern on the IUCN Red List. The total population is around 300,000-450,000. Populations are affected by hunting and environmental stressors. Arctocephalus australis have a dark grey or brown fur coat and are sexually dimorphic. Males compete for territory and females to mate with, forming a dominance hierarchy. Breeding season is from October to December, whereas multiple pups are bred each season. South American fur seals are nocturnal…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_fur_seal

## Photo

![South American Fur Seal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/south-american-fur-seal/medium.jpg)

Photo: Tabaré Barreto · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101611309

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/south-american-fur-seal?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).