Morphology, age and survival of adult male New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri, in South Australia

Nineteen adult male New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri, were mar ked and measured at the start of the breeding seasons in November 1992 and 1993 at Cape Gantheaume, Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The age of eac h seal was estimated from the number of cementum layers in a post-canine to oth. The males that were attempting to hold territories were 7-15 years old and the heaviest was 160 kg. The mass of males could be predicted accurate ly from linear measurements and several predictive equations enable estimat ion of mass in the field. The mean annual survival rate for adult male New Zealand fur seals was 76%, which is higher than that in other fur seal spec ies, perhaps reflecting the expanding nature of the A. forsteri population in Australia.