The Northern Fur Seal has some of the densest fur of any mammal—up to 350,000 hairs per square inch—which provided both its evolutionary advantage and the reason it was hunted nearly to extinction in the 19th century. Large harems of females are controlled by massive, battle-scarred bulls on rocky Alaskan island rookeries during the summer breeding season. Juveniles spend two years at sea without returning to land.
Habitat
North Pacific Ocean; breeds on Alaskan and Russian islands
Diet
Fish, squid, and small schooling prey
How common
Uncommon
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