Fur Seal Fight Club

Fur seals live in dominance hierarchies that are in a constant state of flux. So it's no wonder that the babies learn from a young age to hold their ground and exploit every weakness. These bitey murder sausages won't give an inch.

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Captions: It's game on for two equally matched fur seals on South Georgia Island. The seals bite and pound each other with their massive bulk, trying to win an advantage with leverage and ferocity. They have thick hides but can sustain nasty-looking injuries to their faces.

First rule of fur seal fight club? Go for the throat. This fur seal bites into its opponent's deeply padded neck. There are few truces among fur seals. It's fight or forget it.

A bull fur seal bellows on the beach in the Malvinas. These seals are all teeth and attitude. 

I have been around wild animals my whole life, but I was startled the first time an adult fur seal charged me. Ordinarily when confronted by an aggressive animal like a bear, I back off to give the animal a third option between murdering me or running away — go about your day. But fur seals take any retreat as a sign of weakness to exploit. You have to be brave.

Framed by a waterfall, a fur seal is as beautiful as its surroundings on South Georgia. These big bulls can grow to nearly 300 pounds. Luckily, the big males didn't see me as much of a threat. Their aggression was limited to an annoyed growl if I ventured too close to one trying to sleep. I can't imagine what 300 pounds of angry fur seal would look like up close!

Baby fur seals learn to give as good as they get when older seals try to bully them.

One of our experienced guides on the Ortelius came to my rescue when I was being charged by an adult seal. We had just finished a conversation about the amazing South Georgia Island when he began to walk away. 

When he saw me in peril, he took a step toward the animal, pointed a finger like a scolding schoolteacher and shouted, "NO!" Like magic, the seal immediately turned and ran away. 

Later that day, another seal charged me. I held my ground and the seal stopped in her tracks. After a short standoff, I took one aggressive step toward her, shouting "Go away!" The seal called my bluff and didn't flinch. I had nothing else — and she knew it — so I made a careful retreat, ha.

I caught this bull seal in a decidedly less menacing expression. 

The second rule of fur seal fight club is everybody fights. Females fight other females. Females fight off undesirable males. Juveniles fight each other and the babies avoid the wrath of everyone.

Fur seals were nearly hunted to extinction during the heyday of whaling on South Georgia Island. Now fur seals have rebounded in extraordinary numbers, taking over these former killing grounds.

A beautiful fur seal bellows on South Georgia Island.