Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cape Cross is located 46km north of Henties Bay along the coastal salt road.
CAPE FUR SEALS
There are seven seal species in Southern African waters but, except for very occasional vagrants from the Antarc-
tic and sub-Antarctic islands, the only mainland species is the Cape fur seal. Communal to the extreme, this
massive population is divided between only about 25 colonies; a few of them, such as Cape Cross on Namibia's
western coast, number more than 100,000.
Despite their gregariousness, Cape fur seals are not especially sociable; colony living makes sense for breeding
opportunities, and to reduce the chance of predators sneaking up, but individual seals are essentially loners on
land, and they constantly quarrel over their own little patch. Except for pups playing with each other in crèche-
like 'playgrounds', virtually every interaction in the colony is hostile, creating extraordinary opportunities for
watching behaviour.
Cape fur seals have a thick layer of short fur beneath the coarser guard hairs, which remain dry and trap air for
insulation. This enables the animals to maintain an internal body temperature of 37°C and spend long periods in
cold waters.
Male Cape fur seals weigh less than 200kg on average, but during the breeding season they take on a particu-
larly thick accumulation of blubber and balloon out to more than 360kg. Females are much smaller, averaging
75kg, and give birth to a single, blue-eyed pup during late November or early December. About 90% of the
colony's pups are born within just over a month.
Pups begin to suckle less than an hour after birth but are soon left in communal nurseries while their mothers
leave to forage for food. When the mothers return to the colony, they identify their own pup by a combination of
scent and call.
The pups moult at the age of four to five months, turning from a dark grey to olive brown. Mortality rates in the
colony are high, and up to a quarter of the pups fail to survive their first year, with the bulk of deaths occurring
during the first week after birth. The main predators are the brown hyena and the black-backed jackal, which ac-
count for 25% of pup deaths. Those pups that do survive may remain with their mothers for up to a year.
Cape fur seals eat about 8% of their body weight each day, and the colonies along the western coast of Southern
Africa annually consume more than 1 million tonnes of fish and other marine life (mainly shoaling fish and
squid). That's about 300,000 tonnes more than is taken by the fishing industries of Namibia and South Africa put
together!
SKELETON COAST PARK
At Ugabmund, 110km north of Cape Cross, the salt road passes through the entry gate to
the Skeleton Coast Park, where rolling fogs and dusty sandstorms encapsulate its eerie, re-
mote and wild feel. Despite the enduring fame of this coastline, surprisingly few travellers
ever reach points north of Cape Cross. In order to preserve this incredibly fragile environ-
