Established by the Two Oceans Aquarium in 2018, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is a registered non-profit and public benefit organisation based in Cape Town. The Foundation informs and inspires all to connect with and protect our ocean and the natural world through conservation, awareness, research, and education.
The Marine Wildlife Management Programme forms part of the Foundation's conservation efforts. A significant portion of this work is dedicated to preserving the welfare of the population of Cape fur seals in and around the V&A Waterfront by monitoring, identifying, and disentangling entrapped seals. In so doing, the team adds to the global research database around Cape fur seals.
Quick facts
Cape fur seals:
- Cape fur seals are scientifically known as Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus.
- They are the only seal species native to the South African mainland.
- Cape fur seals have been a protected species in South Africa since 1893 but were actually commercially hunted until 1990.
- Approximately two million Cape fur seals inhabit the coasts of southern Africa, mostly living in colonies of up to 40 seals on rocky coastlines and islands.
- Cape fur seals display sexual dimorphism - meaning that males are significantly larger than females, almost double their size.
- They form hunting parties of up to 20 seals, track shoaling fish and sometimes squid, and dive 200m deep to catch them.
Marine Wildlife Management Programme:
- Established in 2018, the Marine Wildlife Management Programme has disentangled X seals since its inception.
- The creation of two seal platforms (Clock Tower and Two Oceans Aquarium) reduces the chances of human-wildlife conflict on the jetties and allows our Wildlife Monitors easy access when disentangling seals.
- The Marine Wildlife Management Programme's aquatic disentangling technique is a unique approach to seal disentanglement used nowhere else in the world.
- The team has assisted in rescuing marine animals such as sunfish, dolphins, Cape fur seals, African penguins, seagulls, and Cape clawless otters.
- The Marine Wildlife Management team comprises highly specialised staff and focuses on skills development and providing opportunities for advancement in this field.
- Various local conservation organisations have contracted our team to conduct disentanglement training.
Cape fur seals and the Two Oceans Aquarium
The dilemma of wildlife in an urban space
Cape Town is a coastal city where humans coexist with a wide variety of urban wildlife. The V&A Waterfront is a prime example of a space in which recreation, industry, and marine wildlife intersect - and where conflict can arise from the interaction between the urban and natural worlds. This is illustrated by the two issues facing Cape fur seals in the V&A Waterfront.
Human-wildlife interactions: For over two decades, Cape fur seals have used the jetties as resting spaces, often leading to unwanted human-wildlife interactions between the seals and boat owners or tourists.
Pollution: Another common hazard for Cape fur seals is pollution. Naturally curious animals, seals inspect foreign objects with their noses. Unfortunately, this leads to entanglement in varying materials like box bands, fishing gear, raffia, and plastic.
The Marine Wildlife Management Programme was initiated by the Two Oceans Aquarium and the V&A Waterfront in response to these ongoing issues.
Seal platforms
As a first step, our Marine Wildlife Management Programme decided to tackle human-wildlife interactions at the V&A Waterfront by creating seal platforms. These innovative platforms (at the Clock Tower and the Two Oceans Aquarium) greatly reduced incidents of human-wildlife conflict. The Marine Wildlife Management team encourages the seals to use these platforms from which visitors can observe them and interactions are avoided.
The seal platforms also serve another purpose - they are designed to make seal disentanglements easier and safer. Floatation devices keep the platforms suspended just above the water's surface, wider gaps between the slats allow our disentangling tools to fit through, and raised sections enable our trained team members to easily manoeuvre beneath the platform.
Disentangling Cape fur seals
The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Marine Wildlife Management Programme preserves the welfare of Cape fur seals in the V&A Waterfront precinct by actively monitoring, identifying, and disentangling affected seals. The programme employs Wildlife Monitors who patrol the V&A Waterfront precinct during the day. The team also has a network of people working and living in the area who get in contact when they spot entangled seals during their daily activities.
Cape fur seals often become entangled in box bands, fishing lines, raffia cords, and other materials - ending up as nooses around the bodies of the seals. If left unattended, these nooses tighten over time and can lead to a slow death.
The team has developed innovative techniques and specially designed tools to disentangle seals, ensuring that our Wildlife Monitors are equipped to rescue seals in any situation. The priority is always to remove the material from the seal as safely as possible and in a way that causes the least stress to the animal.
The team has various tools and cutters for disentanglements. The Leatherman Raptor Shears are helpful in situations when our Wildlife Monitors must get very close to the entangled seal or if the noose itself is of particularly robust material. Alternatively, the team uses a specialised cutting hook when disentangling the seal from beneath or above the seal platform. Our team has a few versions of this tool: One with a shorter handle for closer disentanglements and another with a long handle for when the distance between the seal and the rescuer is greater.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Cape fur seals in the V&A Waterfront precinct are all wild animals. They use the seal platform as a place to rest and socialise during the day, coming and going as they please.
In instances where disentanglement is necessary due to human pollution, the Marine Wildlife Management Programme assists the seals as much as they are able.
No. Outside of the breeding season, Cape fur seals spend most of their lives at sea and return to their colonies on large rocks and places like our Seal Platform to rest and socialise.
Our Marine Wildlife Management Programme tags the seals in the V&A Waterfront when disentanglements or other rescues have taken place. Tagging serves several purposes. In the case of a severe entanglement, placing a tag on the seal's flipper allows the team to keep track of the animal's healing process. Alternatively, if a seal was rescued from a dry dock after extended contact with humans, the Marine Wildlife Management team can track the interactions that follow. Tagging also helps us to monitor the Cape fur seal populations and aids in data collection.
The Marine Wildlife Management Programme uses two types of tags to identify seals. A yellow tag signals that the seal had a severe entanglement that required our Marine Wildlife Management Programme and vet to dart it with a sedative to remove the entanglement. A green tag signals that the seal was rescued or assisted in some way, usually out of a dry dock. Some seals have metal tags - these are from the Department of Forestries, Fisheries, and the Environment before the Marine Wildlife Management Programme's establishment.
If you see an entangled seal in and around the V&A Waterfront precinct, please call 021 418 3823. One of our Wildlife Monitors will assist as quickly as possible.
Multimedia
Browse a selection of images and videos from our penguins. Find captions below each.
All credits to the Two Oceans Aquarium.
