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Early pupping of a sub-Antarctic fur seal at Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha

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Abstract

A sub-Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis, pup was located on Inaccessible Island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago (TdC), well before the start of the annual breeding (pupping and mating) season in 2018. It was born a few days before 27 September 2018, at least 59 days before the next pup was observed on the island in 2018 and 75 days before the median birthdate for the species at the TdC. A malfunctioning of the obligate delay of implantation of the blastocyst in its mother was likely the cause of the early birth.

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Fig. 1
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Acknowledgements

We thank Trevor Glass, the Island Council and Administrator for approving the visit, and Maëlle Connan, Ben Dilley, George Swain, Julian Repetto and Leo Glass for assistance in the field. Ben Dilley also prepared Fig. 1. The South African National Antarctic Programme provided berths on the SA Agulhas II and invaluable helicopter support. The Captain and crew of the MFV Geo Searcher recovered the shore party safely from the island. James Glass kindly allowed the use of his small boat to ferry equipment off Inaccessible Island.

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Correspondence to M. N. Bester.

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Field procedures were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the UCT.

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Bester, M.N., Ryan, P.G. Early pupping of a sub-Antarctic fur seal at Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha. Polar Biol 42, 1221–1224 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02510-7

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