Washington mammals

Northern Fur Seal in Washington

Callorhinus ursinus

Native to Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

VU – Vulnerable

High risk of extinction in the wild.

Callorhinus ursinus and haremFur seals callorhinus ursinus black and white photoNorthern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)
Photo: M. Boylan · Public domainCallorhinus ursinus and haremPhoto: Scheffer, Victor B, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainFur seals callorhinus ursinus black and white photoPhoto: RFEMMR Program · CC BY 3.0Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)Photo: Михаил Голомысов · CC BY 4.0Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)Photo: Михаил Голомысов · CC BY 4.0Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus)

Northern Fur Seal in Washington, by the numbers

Rare in Washington 92nd most recorded of 126 mammals logged in Washington

43 occurrence records
5 with iNaturalist photos
Oct 11, 2024 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

43 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 42; the monthly chart covers the 39 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Northern Fur Seal in Washington

Most sightings fall in January to March.

39 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January6
February8
March9
April3
May3
June3
July2
August1
September0
October1
November0
December3

Monthly northern fur seal occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in January–March.

Occurrence map

Where Northern Fur Seal has been recorded in Washington

42 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

41 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 1

Protected places with the most northern fur seal sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

CountyRecords
Grays Harbor County 14
King County 9
Pacific County 5
Clallam County 3
Island County 1
Jefferson County 1
Kitsap County 1
Other localities 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 7 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The Washington record for northern fur seal comprises 43 submissions across the 2000–2026 window. Only 5 are research-grade iNaturalist records, while GBIF contributes 42; the archive-to-community-science imbalance is important here. That evidence yields a Washington atlas rank of 92 out of 126.

Seasonally, March leads with 9 records, while September has 0. Both Olympic National Park and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge appear as search areas, although the data do not rank those sites. Together these are submitted-record patterns, not evidence of Washington population size.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Callorhinus ursinus and harem
Full species profile Northern Fur Seal Callorhinus ursinus Size 1.9 m6.3 ft Weight 55.5 kg122.3 lb Lifespan Up to 35 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"