Hobart Seal Tours

Bruny Island Seal Tour departing 7:00am (Thur - Sat)

Take a high speed journey to see a giant seal colony - 8000 seals - at the bottom end of Bruny Island. See dramatic coastline unchanged for thousand of years, the second highest sea cliffs in Australia, breathing rock, Monument Rock (also known as the Totem Pole), dolphins, seabirds and penguins.

You need to be up early for this amazing wildlife experience that departs from Watermans Dock in the centre of Hobart. You’ll be blasting along the Derwent River as most people are just waking up. You’ll then head into Storm Bay before going around the outside of North Bruny Island. The scenery becomes more and more spectacular as you journey closer to the Southern Ocean.

On board every trip there’ll be two guides to help you enjoy this journey of a lifetime, providing a historical overview of the early explorers, the whaling history and the life cycles of the Australian and New Zealand fur seals.

Along the way you’ll enjoy a cup of hot soup, milo, tea or coffee and a small snack to keep you going before lunch! This tour departs 7:00am Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s from December to April

See Australian and New Zealand fur seals and learn all about them!

Thirty five species of seal inhabit the oceans of the world but only two species of otarid seals breed in Tasmanian waters.

The Australian fur seal is the most common found in Tasmanian waters and breeds on small isolated rocks in Bass Straight between October and January. The seal then hauls-out to various locations including the Friars rocks at the southern end of Bruny Island. Mature males can measure more than 2 metres in length and weigh up to 360 kgs. Females are much smaller.

How to recognize a Fur Seal

Head: ‘Dog-like’ dark nose at the end of muzzle, long whiskers, visible flap ears

Body: Covered with sleek fur. Males are much larger than females around the head and neck.

Foreflippers: Large, not covered by fur. Used for movement on land.

The New Zealand fur seal is also found in Tasmanian waters with a population off the bottom end of Bruny Island and another small breeding population at Maatsuyker Island.

They are slightly smaller than Australian fur seals and are best distinguished from this species by their much darker colour.

The Southern Elephant seal is the largest of all seals but is no where near as common. Males reach up to 3,600 kg’s in weight and 4-5 metres in length.

Leopard Seals are not often seen but they are awesome marine predators and the only seal to regularly prey on warm blooded animals including penguins, birds and other seals.

Reproduction:
Seals give birth to live young and suckle them from mammary glands just like humans. Normally only one pup is born but twins can occur. Pregnancy in seals ranges from 6 weeks to 5 months depending on the species. All species are capable of suspending the development of the embryo so that births can occur at a suitable time of year.

Foraging (Searching for food)

While at sea, seals alternate between resting on the surface and searching for food. Although the diet varies between species, seals generally eat fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans such as krill. When foraging, seals can leave haulout sites for days, weeks or in the case of elephant seals, months. Southern elephant seals can dive to more than 1500 metres for over half an hour!