Can you guess which animal this skeleton belongs to? Is it a dog? A dolphin? An otter?
Answer: The skeleton that you can see on the ramp leading from the Touch Pool to the Penguin Exhibit, brought to you by OId Mutual Finance, is that of a South African fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus), also known as a Cape fur seal. It was created for us by artist Lachlan Matthews.
About South African fur seals
South African fur seals live only off the coasts of South Africa and Namibia and can be seen basking in the sun at various spots in the V&A Waterfront harbour. Like humans, seals are mammals and have bony skeletons, as opposed to sharks which have skeletons made of cartilage. Fur seal skeletons look similar to those of dogs and, like dogs, they have canines, which shows that they are carnivores.
Our work with seals
Through the Two Ocean Aquarium Seal Rescue Programme, we are able to make daily trips into the waters of the V&A Waterfront, finding entangled seals and freeing them. The combination of our team’s stealth and behavioural knowledge, together with generous support from SPAR Western Cape, has helped countless disentangled Cape fur seals over the years.
Most recently, in partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Mammal Unit, we launched a pioneering job creation and wildlife preservation project with a simple objective: taking care of the Cape fur seals at the V&A Waterfront. Full-time seal monitors have been hired as part of a new Seal Management Programme. The first of these monitors are already patrolling the V&A Waterfront – being trained to serve as spotters of distressed seals, and also as guides who can educate the public and tourists about these incredible creatures.
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A Cape fur seal entangled like this has no hope of survival without human intervention to remove the material. Photo by Helen Lockhart
Did you know?
- Seals can swim at speeds of up to 20 kilometres an hour.
- They can stay underwater for about 30 minutes before surfacing for air, but tend to dive for only a few minutes at a time.
- Seals can dive as deep as 200 metres. Scuba divers can only dive to about 50 metres safely.
The artist behind the skeleton
Lachlan Matthews is a sculptor, designer and taxidermist originally from Cape Town but now living and working from home in Lambert’s Bay on the South African West Coast.
As an avid surfer and former diamond diver, his passion is the sea, its inhabitants, and the infinite variety of form and movement expressed by the natural world. A number of his dynamic skeletons and whalebone furniture pieces are displayed throughout South Africa in private homes, nature reserves, and exhibition facilities. The largest is a 13m southern right whale, currently on display at uShaka Marine World.
It took Lachlan a month to clean the bones and meticulously re-articulate this large male South African fur seal skeleton.
More of his work can be seen at www.lachlanmatthews.co.za.
