Captured on film: a Cape Fur Seal preys upon on a Southern Giant Petrel in Namibia

Simon Elwen (Mammal Research Unit, University of Pretoria, South Africa.) and colleagues writing in the electronic journal Ornithological Observations report on a juvenile Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus (that was unable to fly due to an entanglement injury) being killed and partially eaten by an adult male Cape Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus in Namibian waters.

Graphic pictures of before, during and after the attack!

Southern_Giant_Petrel_flying_by_Warwick_Barnes
Southern Giant Petrel.  Photograph by Warwick Barnes

Reference:

Elwen, S.H., Meintjies, J. & Roux, J.-P. 2012.  Death under the surface - Cape Fur Seal predating [sic] on a Southern Giant Petrel in Walvis Bay, Namibia.  Ornithological Observations 3: 206-210.

Ornithological Observations is an open-access electronic journal published by BirdLife South Africa and the Animal Demography Unit, University of Cape Town.

With thanks to Arnold van der Westhuizen for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 October 2012


The Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP is a multilateral agreement which seeks to conserve listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters by coordinating international activity to mitigate known threats to their populations.

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