Seal pups at play

Autumn is the BEST time to watch the young seal pups play and frolic in the water!

The fur seal pups are now about three months old and are going beyond the safety of the rockpools at Seal Rocks. They are still 100% reliant on their mother’s milk, but are now bigger and stronger and able to venture out further while their mums are away foraging for food.

This is a very important stage of the pups’ development as they gain basic survival skills: prey-catching, predator evasion, entering and exiting the water and navigating through the water.

Seal pups can be seen ‘playing fetch’ with seaweed or kelp, chasing each other, leaping out of the water, and darting in various directions underwater. These athletic moves will help them evade dangerous predators such as sharks and Orcas.

The daily visit of our boats often spraks their curiosity and entices the pups to swim up closer to investigate. While their eyes are highly specialised for seeing underwater, they have quite poor vision above water. For this reason, you will see the pups approach the boat very closely before darting back away to what they feel is a safe distance.

Over the next weeks, the pups will become more and more comfortable with their human guests and can be seen right next to the boat.

Wildlife Coast Cruises follow strict marine mammal tour guidelines to ensure the wildlife’s safety, and with 30+ years of experience, we offer best practice wildlife viewing, allowing our passengers to have the unique wildlife experience at Seal Rocks.

Join us on a Seal Cruise soon to have an unforgettable experience!