Fur seals expected sunbathe on Tasmanian shores

As the weather warms up, it looks like Tasmania’s beaches are the place to be, just ask these lazy sunbathing seals. Why you can expect more seal sightings.

As summer approaches, Tasmanian's will see fur seals coming to shore across the state. Photo: Supplied/NRE Tasmania

After spending months foraging food at sea, exhausted fur seals will be descending on Tasmania’s picturesque coast this summer ready to sunbathe.

But with the upcoming increased mammal traffic, wildlife authorities are reminding the public to let seals rest peacefully while onshore.

“They can stay onshore for undefined amounts of time. They just need some peace and quiet to get their energy back. Usually they’re on their way back to the sea when they’re ready,” Marine Conservation Program wildlife officer Alexa Wolfs said.

While taking in the summer sun, Australian and long-nosed fur seals will take leisurely swims to help thermoregulate.

“When seals are onshore they can get pretty hot on a warm day. They’ve got really thick blubber that kind of works with insulation to keep them warm in the water, but it means that when they’re on land they can be a bit hotter, so they will go back into water to cool off,” Ms Wolfs said.

As summer approaches, Tasmanian's will see fur seals coming to shore across the state. Photo: Supplied/NRE Tasmania

“Their flippers don’t have those thick blubber deposits so they stick their flippers in the air to heat up. It’s how they thermoregulate so their flippers will heat up and that heat will circulate through their body.

“Often you can see them kind of floating and swimming slowly in the water with a flipper in the air and it looks quite peculiar and people might think they are in distress, but they’re actually just thermoregulating, so completely normal behaviour.”

Elephant and leopard seals also make a rare appearance on shore during the warmer months.

As summer approaches, Tasmanian's will see fur seals coming to shore across the state. Photo: Supplied/NRE Tasmania

People who see a seal onshore must keep a minimum distance of 20m or 50m with a dog for safety. Boaties need to be aware of any seals in the water, and reduce speed to under 10 knots within 200m and five knots within 100m.

“The best thing to do is to just let them be and keep a safe distance so that they’re not disturbed and definitely don’t try to help seals back into the sea, they’re onshore because they want to rest,” Ms Wolfs said.

“Be very aware of any seals when you’re in the water, especially when they are resting or sleeping, they can get a bit surprised by the boat or sometimes they are playful and they can come up quite close.”

The public are encouraged to call the marine mammal hotline if they see a seal pup or any injured, unwell or entangled seals on 0427 942 537 (0427WHALES).