Australian Fur Seals Are Losing Their Fur

[n2doc]

By Jane J. Lee May 4, 2011 | 4:18 pm | Categories: Animals


Young Australian fur seals are losing the thick coats that keep them warm in chilly waters.

The condition disproportionately affects 1-to-3-year-old females on Lady Julia Percy Island near Tasmania, and seems to be causing their population to drop.

“Large numbers of animals get it, and it’s detrimental to their health,” said Michael Lynch, a veterinarian at the Melbourne Zoo and lead author of the study published in the April issue of the Journal of Mammalogy.

Australian fur seals were nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800s for their coats. They were slow to recover until they received full protection in 1975. Since then, the population has about doubled, says Roger Kirkwood, a research scientist at Phillip Island Nature Park near Melbourne, Australia and a co-author of the study.

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http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/05/seals-losing-coats/