Behavioural responses of South American fur seals to approach by tourists - a brief report.
I studied the responses (retreats, threats, attacks or leaving the rookery) of South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis to tourist approaches at a non-reproductive, continental colony of located in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay (34 degrees 24'S, 53 degrees 46'W). Fur seals tolerated relatively close distances to humans, but a strong response of the animals was elicited when tourists crossed a threshold of 10m. The attitude of the tourist was also important. Calm people were able to approach the colony without almost any disturbance. These results suggested that, with a minimal control of visitor's behaviour, the impact of tourism on this colony would be low.
Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, and Organización PROFAUNA, Rutas 5 y 7, 6700 Luján, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
M H.
MH
Cassini