Thousands of Cape Fur Seals, Arctocephalus pusillus, have been found dead on beaches in Namibia. The first deaths were recorded in mid-August, but the number of reported deaths has risen steadily since then, with a drone flight over a colony to the south of Walvis Bay at the beginning of October, organised by Naude Dreyer of Ocean Conservation Namibia, revealing an estimated 5000 dead Seals, although precise numbers are hard to ascertain, due to the actions of Jackals and other scavengers around the colony. The number of dead Seals has continued to rise through October, with it currently thought that around 7000 have been lost.
The causes of the deaths are unclear, although many Seals on the Namibian coast appear emaciated, which has led Annely Haiphene, executive director in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to suggest that the Animals may be dying of starvation, although they are waiting on the results of toxicology tests to confirm this; a similar mass die off of Fur Seals on the Namibian coast in 1994, when around 10 000 adult Seals died, and around 15 000 foetuses were aborted, is believed to have been caused by a combination of a shortage of Fish and a bloom of toxic Bacteria.
Cape Fur Seals are not considered to be endangered, with large populations present on the coasts of both Namibia, South Africa, and Australia. The species is still hunted commercially to a small extent in Namibia, although they are fully protected in South Africa and Australia. Their population is generally rising, which has led to a call for hunting to be resumed in South Africa, where they are perceived as a threat to Fish stocks.
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