Callorhinus ursinus

The scientific name of the northern fur seal is Callorhinus ursinus, which has 6 subspecies. It is a large marine mammal. The male northern fur seal's genitals are called "腽肭", which can be used as medicine. It is commonly known as the 腽肭兽.

Northern fur seals are warm-blooded animals. However, due to the cold polar climate, fur seals must rely on their thick fur (which sheds once a year) and a layer of about 15 cm of subcutaneous fat to keep warm. Fur seals also have long and sensitive whiskers to sense whether there is food or natural enemies around. Another physical feature of fur seals is their flippers, which make them fast and graceful swimmers.

Fur seals have sharp vision and hearing, but a poor sense of smell. This may be because the cold climate where they live limits the spread of odors, causing their sense of smell to deteriorate.

The ability to move forward and swim on land is innate in the northern fur seal. They are very good swimmers. Soon after birth, they can swim at a speed of 15 miles per hour for 5 minutes and can dive to 240 feet underwater. The northern fur seal moves clumsily on land, but not as clumsy as true seals. The reason is that the former has larger flippers, which allows them to reach a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour. They are good at diving. The heavier the individual, the faster and deeper they can dive. When diving, they stop breathing, slow down blood circulation, and lower their heart rate to ensure adequate oxygen supply. Sometimes their heart rate during diving is only one-tenth of that on the surface.

Northern fur seals live in the northern Pacific Ocean. Every year, they swim south to the coast of central California and then return to the North Pacific Ocean. This migration process takes 8 months. During the journey, they always stay at least 10 miles away from the coast and never go ashore. No one knows why. When not migrating, northern fur seals generally live in the Pribilof Islands and Commander Islands between Alaska and Siberia. Walruses, whales, narwhals, polar bears, octopuses, squids, other types of pinnipeds, and a wide variety of birds and fish also live in this area.

The northern fur seals mainly hunt in the evening and often dive deep to hunt, which to a certain extent allows them to avoid their natural enemies. The latter rarely appear during this time period; and the light is dim at this time, so the fur seals are not easy to be discovered. When hunting fish, the fur seals will dive underwater, quietly follow the prey, and then bite the prey. Fur seals cannot chew, so they either swallow the food directly or tear the food into small pieces and swallow it. After eating, they like to trample the food wantonly. The northern fur seals are also selfish in their actions, appearing restrained and rigid. Even in a large group, they do not care about each other. Sometimes when they encounter each other during the hunting process, they will give up the prey that is about to be in their hands and fight with each other. If they encounter danger, they will not only run away for their lives, but also sacrifice their companions and even their cubs so that they can escape.

The natural enemies of the northern fur seal include sharks, killer whales, polar bears, etc., but the main threat comes from humans. Due to human desire for the fur of the northern fur seal, this species has been hunted for centuries, especially commercial hunting after the 19th century, which almost made the northern fur seal completely extinct. The Arctic Sea Seal Convention signed in 1911, the United States, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom agreed not to kill juvenile fur seals. This convention expired in 1984. In the 21st century, due to offshore oil extraction, the habitat of the northern fur seal has been severely destroyed, and the number has dropped rapidly.

Listed in the "Red List of Threatened Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2015 ver 3.1-Vulnerable (VU)

Listed in the second level of China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021).

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Mainly distributed in the Bering Sea and the North Pacific, they gather in the Pribilof Islands, the Commander Islands, and the Seal Island southeast of Sakhalin Island during the breeding season. They can reach the northern waters of Mexico along the American side and the Sea of ​​Japan along the Asian side.
China (occasionally): Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Shandong, Jiangsu, Taiwan, Guangdong, North Pacific, Bering Sea, Sea of ​​Okhotsk.
Abroad: Canada, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, and the United States.
The northern fur seal spends most of the year on the Arctic Ocean, and only lives on land during the breeding season, for about 45 days for males and 35 days for females.

The length of the northern fur seal is 150-210 cm, the tail is 8-10 cm long, and the weight is 140-260 kg. Males are larger than females, and sometimes the difference in size between males and females is more than 5 times. The difference between male and female fur seals is that the female fur is lighter in color, and the male has denser neck hair.
The snout is short, the outer ear shell is smaller, and there are about 20 white tentacles on each side of the upper lip. The front flippers are large and thick, with the first finger being the longest and clawless. The second and third fingers of the rear flippers have claws, and there is a long and tough membrane in front of the claws. The front and rear flippers are bare and hairless, and the rear flippers can be bent forward and can walk on land. The tail is very small. When at sea, the fur is gray, and when on land, the body is covered with brown or dark brown fur. The back is dark in color, and the abdomen and sides of the body are