Vagrant Antarctic pinnipeds at Gough Island

Opportunistic sightings of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella and a leopard seal Hydrurga leptonyx at Gough Island (40 degrees 20'S, 09 degrees 54'W) in the South Atlantic Ocean represent the northernmost island records for vagrant Antarctic fur seals, and only the second for a vagrant leopard seal at Gough Island. Some ten different individual Antarctic fur seals were sighted on a single day, up to seven on a single beach. An overall total of 18 individuals were recorded over a 7-week period in October/November 2005, before the onset of the breeding (pupping) season of the resident population of Subantarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis. Most were immature, male and mostly in good condition (n = 11, 61%); one mature male and six putative females were also present. All had departed after 23 November, although only a fraction of the available beaches was searched.