Photo: New Zealand Fur Seal Pinniped Marine Mammal

A species of Pinniped belonging to the Otariidae family, the New Zealand Fur Seal is a marine mammal commonly seen along the coasts of both the North and South Island's of New Zealand.

A Pinniped is a semi-aquatic marine mammal with flippers or hind fins which allow them to move around on land. Within this sub-order are families such as Odobenidae, Otariidae, and Phocidae. The New Zealand Fur Seal is a Pinniped that falls into the category of Otariidae which are eared seals.

Although the New Zealand Fur Seal is a member of the Pinniped suborder, it is classed as a Otariidae and, like other Otariinae, it is able to turn its hind flippers forward, allowing the animal to move on all fours. During the summer months females gather at rookeries, such as the Cape Palliser colony in the Wairarapa of the North Island, to give birth to their young and to breed again. The pups are quite mobile by the time their mothers leave for extended periods of time to forage for food, and can easily roam the rookery where they clamber up and down the jagged rocks.

Marine mammal - New Zealand ... continue below the picture...

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... Fur Seal pup, Arctocephalus forsteri, a pinniped of the Otariidae familyat the Cape Palliser Seal colony, Cape Palliser, Wairarapa, North Island, New Zealand.