The behavior of the Galapagos fur seal has been extensively studied.  It has a fairly long pupping and breeding season, lasting from mid-August to mid-November.  The peak of pupping shifts from year to year, but usually occurs sometime from the last week of September through the first week of October.

Galapagos fur seals mature at 3-5 years old, at which time females usually produce one pup a year for most of the rest of their lives.  Males do not become physically mature, and large enough to compete for a territory that will be used by females until they are much older.  Males hold territories that average 200 m², which is large compared to the average size of territories held by of other otariid males, and especially so when considering Galapagos fur seal’s small size.

Colonies are located close to foraging areas and the average length of female trips is the shortest for a fur seal with a mean trip length of 1.5 days.  Most foraging occurs at night and the mean depth of foraging dives is 26 m and duration is less than 2 minutes with maximum depths recorded of 115 m, and duration of 5 minutes.  Pups are visited around 300 times before weaning, with attendance periods of 0.5-1.3 days.  Weaning occurs at 18-36 months, with most pups being weaned in their third year.  Pups born prior to the weaning of an older sibling rarely survive, with most starving to death and a small percentage being killed by the older pup.  Females will allow multiple pups to nurse but this rarely lasts long enough for the youngest pup to get strong enough to survive.  In exceptional cases offspring were allowed to nurse when they were 4-5 years old. 

In the water, particularly near haul-outs, Galapagos fur seals raft in postures typical of many of the southern fur seal species.  There is no evidence for migration, and they do not seem to spend prolonged periods of time at sea.  Predators at sea include sharks and killer whales.  On land feral dogs on Isabella Island decimated colonies on the southern end of the island killing pups and adults.

Food habits are poorly known.  Galapagos fur seals consume a variety of small squids including Onychoteuthis banksi, and a number of species of omastrephids.  A variety of fish species are also taken including myctophids and bathylagids.  They seem to feed mostly at night, possibly exploiting vertically migrating species when they are at the surface.

As with all southern fur seals there was a severe population decline as a result of 19^th century exploitation by sealers and whalers.  The species was near extinction early in the 20^th century, and has since recovered.  A census conducted in 1988–89 yielded an estimate of 40,000 animals.  El Nino events dramatically raise pup mortality, may have an impact on the survival of other age classes, and causes population declines, when upwelling and marine productivity dramatically declines around the Archipelago.

Tourism in the Galapagos, which is an Ecuadorian National Park, is heavy but regulated, and fur seals are protected.  Episodes of entanglement in local net fisheries have been reported but are thought to have been largely mitigated by no fishing zones.  Feral dogs on Isabella Island destroyed colonies on the south end of the island by killing all ages of seals.  Subsequently, a feral dog program was put in place in the park, but this problem could erupt again if any remaining animals find their way to colony sites again.  Both feral and properly controlled dogs could transmit diseases to pinnipeds.  Despite their population size, the Galapagos fur seal population will always be vulnerable to a variety of threats because of the species’ restricted distribution to a relatively small Archipelago of islands.

For current information on the conservation status of this species, please consult the following websites: 

• IUCN Species Redlist    
• CITES webpage
• NMFS Stock Assessment Reports

ARNOLD, W., AND F. TRILLMICH.  1985.  Time budget in Galapagos fur seal pups: the influence of the mother’s presence and absence on pup activity and play.  Behaviour 92:302-321.

ARNOULD, J. P. Y.  2002.  Southern fur seals Arctocephalus spp.  Pp. 1146-1151 in W. F. Perrin, B. Wursig, and J. G. M. Thiewissen, eds.  Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press.

BONNER, W. N.  1981.  Southern fur seals-Arctocephalus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Cuvier, 1826).  Pp. 161-208 in S. H. Ridgway and R. J. Harrison, eds. Handbook of marine mammals, Vol. 1: The walrus, sea lions, fur seals and sea otter.  Academic Press.

LIMBERGER, D., F. TRILLMICH, H. BIEBACH, AND R. B. STEVENSON.  1986.  Temperature regulation and microhabitat choice by free-ranging Galapagos fur seal pups (Arctocephalus galapagoensis).  Oecologia 69:53-59.

TRILLMICH, F.  1986.  Attendance behavior of Galapagos sea lions.  Pp.196-208 in R. L. Gentry, and G. L. Kooyman, eds. Fur seals maternal strategies on land and at sea.  Princeton University Press.

TRILLMICH, F.  1987.  Galapagos fur seal, Arctocephalus galapagoensis.  Pp. 23-27 in J. P. Croxall, and R. L. Gentry eds. Status, biology, and ecology of fur seals proceedings of an international workshop Cambridge, England, 23-27 April 1984.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Report National Marine Fisheries Service 51.