
A New Guadalupe Fur Seal Colony in the Gulf of California?
- Species conservation
Abstract
A new colony of Guadalupe fur seals was discovered in the Gulf of California in 2019 and documented with counts and photographs in 2019 and 2020. The location is at Isla Las Animas which is northeast of La Paz in Baja California Sur, Mexico. All animals observed were juveniles and suggests this colony is in the early stages of forming. Guadalupe fur seals are classified as Endangered in Mexico and Threatened in the United States and the only two regular breeding colonies are at Guadalupe Island and a smaller breeding group at the San Benitos Islands, both located on the west side of the Baja California Peninsula. This species was hunted nearly to extinction in the 19th Century and was thought to have gone extinct twice from the early to mid-20th Century.
Elorriaga-Verplancken, F.R., Paniagua-Mendoza, A., Hernández-Camacho, C.J., Webber, M.A., Cruz-Vallejo, R., Nevels, C.R. and González-López, I. 2021. A New Guadalupe Fur Seal Colony in the Gulf of California? Ecological and Conservation Implications. Aquatic Mammals, 47(1), pp.1–9.
Marc Webber
Related Publications
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/Vaquita-Olson-NOAA.jpg","alt":"vaquita","title":"Protecting Critically Endangered Vaquita from Entanglement Through Field Capture","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/protecting-critically-endangered-vaquita-from-entanglement-through-field-capture","label":"Research Paper"}

Protecting Critically Endangered Vaquita from Entanglement Through Field Capture
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/Guadalupe fur seals\/2020\/cropped-images\/gfs-pippin-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-noaa-permit-18786-111-120-3738-2920-1602702191.jpg","alt":"Guadalupe fur seal Pippin","title":"Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Threatened Guadalupe Fur Seals","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/understanding-the-impacts-of-climate-change-on-threatened-guadalupe-fur-seals","label":"Research Paper"}

Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Threatened Guadalupe Fur Seals
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/Guadalupe fur seals\/2019\/cropped-images\/gfs-scooter-release-photo-c-steve-sayles-878-376-4402-3438-1606346089.jpg","alt":"Guadalupe fur seal","title":"Ecology and Conservation of Pinnipeds in Latin America: Guadalupe Fur Seal","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/ecology-and-conservation-of-pinnipeds-in-latin-america-guadalupe-fur-seal","label":"Research Paper"}

{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/cropped-images\/galapagos-sea-lion-shutterstock-954-376-2988-2334-1617750524.jpg","alt":"Galapagos sea lion","title":"Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions and Their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/occurrence-of-mycoplasmas-in-galapagos-sea-lions","label":"Research Paper"}

Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions and Their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens
Read MoreRelated News
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/California sea lion\/cropped-images\/csl-release-4-5-24photo-by-chris-deimler-c-the-marine-mammal-center-138-0-1270-992-1745348188.jpg","alt":"Four young California sea lions walk on the beach toward the ocean.","title":"Achievements in Ocean Health","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/achievements-in-ocean-health","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-23 10:20:00"}

{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Humpback whale\/cropped-images\/humpback-whale-sea-lions-photo-c-bill-hunnewell-102-0-1270-992-1743014972.jpg","alt":"A California sea lion jumps out of the ocean next to a humpback whale showing its tail and another whale showing its back.","title":"What is the Loudest Animal on Earth? And Other Animal Trivia","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/what-is-the-loudest-animal-on-earth-and-other-animal-trivia","label":"News Update","date":"2025-03-26 07:00:00"}

{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Harbor seal\/cropped-images\/01-hslucinda2934releasephoto-by-john-beltran-c-the-marine-mammal-center-16-0-0-1270-992-1734387848.jpg","alt":"A Pacific harbor seal moves into the ocean.","title":"From Rescue to Release: Marine Mammal Patients Seen Thriving in the Wild","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/from-rescue-to-release-marine-mammal-patients-seen-thriving-in-the-wild","label":"Patient Update","date":"2024-12-17 12:06:08"}

From Rescue to Release: Marine Mammal Patients Seen Thriving in the Wild
December 17, 2024
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Gray whale\/gray-whale-baleen-shutterstock.jpg","alt":"A gray whale\u2019s head rises above the ocean surface with its mouth open showing baleen.","title":"What Do Whales Eat? And Other Foodie Trivia","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/what-do-whales-eat-and-other-foodie-trivia","label":"News Update","date":"2024-11-22 11:51:35"}
